Source: Save the Children
More than twice as many Palestinian students in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have had their education disrupted in the first 50 days of the new school year compared to a year ago due to attacks by state-backed settlers and restrictions imposed by Israeli military, said Save the Children.
The Education Cluster – a humanitarian coordination mechanism co-led by Save the Children and UNICEF – documented some 174 education-related incidents [1] between 1 September and 20 October. These incidents affected 140 schools and directly impacted 24,500 students, a 121% increase compared to about 11,100 students affected during the same period a year ago.
School students lost more than 875 school hours during the reporting period, compared to about 174 hours in the same period in 2025, representing an increase of more than 400%.
For thousands of Palestinian children across the West Bank, simply getting to school has become increasingly dangerous, with children facing Israeli-imposed movement restrictions, including 942 checkpoints, while attacks and harassment by settlers have forced children to miss classes, relocate, or abandon their education altogether.
In late September, settler attacks prevented 10 children from reaching their schools in the Tubas Governorate, forcing one family to temporarily relocate three of the children to another area so they could continue their education while the remaining seven children were left without access to in-person education.
Around the same time in Masafer Yatta, settlers blocked a school minibus carrying children to their classes from reaching their school.
In October, the brutal attacks and movement restrictions became worse. Settlers attacked students travelling to school in Huwara, south of Nablus, while in Masafer Yatta, settlers repeatedly obstructed and attacked vehicles transporting children. In one incident, settlers prevented a vehicle carrying students home from moving for more than two hours. The following day, settlers armed with stones and sticks attacked two school transport vehicles while children were inside, affecting 24 children from four communities.
The insecurity has also reached the school grounds. On 19 October, settlers attempted to break into the Jalud Mixed Elementary School in the Nablus Governorate, forcing school staff to evacuate the students and send them home for their own safety.
Alongside settler violence, children and teachers continue to face restrictions and military action by Israeli forces.
In East Jerusalem, several students returning home from school in Beit Hanina suffered tear gas inhalation on 16 September, after Israeli forces fired tear gas in their vicinity. On 4 October, Israeli forces detained a number of students as they were on their way to their schools in the village of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of Ramallah, and on 19 October, Israeli forces detained a group of teachers as they were heading to the Susiya Elementary School in Masafer Yatta.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at Save the Children International, said:
“Schools and the routes to them should be free from any danger. No child should ever have to flee their classroom out of fear for their life. Yet for children in the West Bank, the journey to and from school has become fraught with peril. School should be a place of learning and safety, not a place where children are forced to escape or wait for settler attacks to end before they can return home to their families.
“The fact that more than twice as many students have been affected compared to this time last year should sound an alarm. Every school day lost to violence represents a deprivation of learning opportunities, stability, and a sense of security. The Israeli military and settlers must cease their attacks, and the international community must guarantee the protection of children, teachers, schools, and school transportation.
“Save the Children calls for an immediate end to attacks on children, teachers, and educational facilities across the occupied Palestinian territory, including in Gaza, where Israeli forces continue to kill and injure students; the removal of barriers that hinder children’s access to education; the protection of schools threatened with demolition; and the conduct of effective, independent investigations into these attacks to hold those responsible accountable.”
Save the Children has worked in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1953, with a permanent presence since 1973. We work with partners to provide healthcare and nutrition services, quality education, child protection, early childhood development support, cash assistance, and other essential humanitarian aid.
Editors Note:
[1] Education-related incidents include: military Presence around schools, interferences with access to education-other, settler violence, delays at checkpoints, entry of military into schools, intimidation commuting to/from schools, denial of right to education, intimidation at checkpoints.