Ramallah, July 10 (Petra)-- Israeli settlers demolished the Yanoun Mixed Basic School in the Yanoun hamlet, south of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, on Friday morning, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

In a statement, the ministry said the school, which served around 15 students from first to sixth grade, was destroyed approximately eight months after residents of the Yanoun hamlet were forcibly displaced.

The ministry described the demolition as "a new crime against Palestinian children" and said it constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and international conventions that guarantee the right to education and prohibit attacks on educational institutions.

It said the school had been a vital educational facility for children in the community for years, ensuring access to education for students from the first through sixth grades. The ministry added that the demolition forms part of what it described as a systematic policy aimed at undermining the education system, increasing pressure on Palestinian communities, and depriving children of their fundamental right to education.

The ministry stressed that, in coordination with its partners, it will continue taking all necessary measures to ensure that affected students can continue their education despite ongoing violations.

It also called on the international community, the United Nations, and human rights and humanitarian organizations to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities by taking urgent action to protect education in Palestine, hold Israel accountable for what it described as repeated violations against students and schools, and end the targeting of educational institutions.

//Petra// MF