Israeli authorities demolish Palestinian school near Bethlehem

Israeli troops used bulldozers on Sunday to demolish a Palestinian school near Bethlehem funded with European Union aid, the WAFA Palestinian news agency reported.

The troops had entered the village in the early hours of Sunday, using tear gas to disperse residents before demolishing the al-Tahadi school.

An Israeli Army spokesman said the report was being investigated.

The al-Tahadi school was demolished in 2017 and then rebuilt. In March, an Israeli court granted an application from a right-wing Israeli organization and ordered its demolition again.

Bassam Jabr, the director of education in the Bethlehem governorate, told WAFA that the school was used by around 60 pupils from the first to the fourth grade.

EU representatives in the West Bank said they were "appalled by reports that the EU-funded school in Jubbet Ad Dhib is being demolished by Israeli authorities."

The EU added that demolitions were illegal under international law and called for children's right to education to be respected.

"Israel should halt all demolitions and evictions, which will only increase the suffering of the Palestinian population and further escalate an already tense environment," it said.

Israel has repeatedly demolished homes and other buildings erected by Palestinians on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem without approval from the Israeli authorities.

The homes of relatives of Palestinians involved in attacks are also destroyed. The practice is seen as collective punishment by rights activists.