Citing media sources, the Palestinian Information Center reported that a large number of Israeli forces raided the area early in the Sunday morning, before Israeli regime's bulldozers demolished and removed the school, which was already under threat of demolition.
The "Challenge 5" primary school, which included grades from first to sixth with 66 male and female students, was initially demolished in 2017 before being rebuilt. The school is located on land donated by Palestinian people and is part of a group of around 28 schools known as "Challenge Schools." These schools teach approximately 1,638 male and female students from communities threatened with demolition and displacement in the areas classified as "Area C" in various governorates of the West Bank. Most of these schools are government primary schools.
The Israeli court had previously decided on March 6th to demolish the "Challenge 5" school, after rejecting an appeal related to freezing the demolition decision.
The "Challenge Schools" are made up of structures like caravans or bricks, with an iron sheet roof, and lack many necessary resources for life and education. On Sunday, the Palestinian Ministry of Education strongly condemned the Israeli army's act of demolishing the Jab Al-Dhib mixed "Challenge 5" primary school, which belongs to the Bethlehem Education Directorate, saying the incident deprived the students of receiving their education freely, safely, and stably, like children worldwide.
In response to the situation, the Education Ministry urged international human rights and media institutions and organizations to take responsibility for the escalating violations of the occupation. They called on them to work on exposing and raising awareness and provide protection and advocacy for Palestinian students. Additionally, the Ministry condemned the act as part of a pattern of continuous crimes against the Palestinian education sector by the Israeli occupation, with no consideration for international conventions, customs, and laws.