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TITLE: DCI/PS Strongly Condemns the Attack by Israeli Military Forces Against Students of the Ibrahimi Basic School in Hebron |
AUTHOR: |
ORG: DCI/PS |
DATE: March 17, 2001 |
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On Thursday, 15 March 2001, Israeli soldiers fired a sound-bomb into the yard of Ibrahimi Basic School located in the Old City of Hebron. Six students were moderately wounded by the explosion and were taken to a nearby hospital. The attack took place at around 11am during school recess time while students were playing in the schoolyard. The school is extremely cramped and surrounded by a high wall and fence. There were no confrontations taking place at the time. The following students were physically wounded in the attack: Hazem Marwan Asher, 5th grade, injury to his back and left hand Bilal Mohammed Abu Mayali, 3rd grade, injury to his head as result of the explosion Ahmed Nasser Sulemi, 3rd grade, injury to his back Mohammed Rabah Abu Sbeih, 3rd grade, severe earache as a result of the sound of the explosion Mohammed Tayseer Wazwaz, 5th grade, injury to his left hand Tareq Khyari Salhab, 4th grade, severe earache as a result of the sound of the explosion In addition, many children suffered psychological distress and panic attacks following the explosion. Following the attack, lessons were cancelled for the day and students evacuated from the school. Ibrahimi Basic School was closed last year for 84 days due to the Israeli-imposed curfew on the Old City of Hebron that began on 1 October 2000. There are 539 students and 19 teachers at the school and during the curfew students were forced to study in the nearby Tareq School. One of the injured, Hazem Marwan Deeb Al Asher, 10-years old, told a DCI/PS fieldworker, "On Thursday 15 March at around 11am I was at school with my colleagues in the yard because it was break time between the lessons. Suddenly I felt something hit my back. I felt a pain and after that I heard the sound of an explosion. There was noise and people gathered around my colleagues and me. They carried us to the Principal's room where they tore my shirt and gave me first aid, I felt pain in my left hand and on my back and after that they called an ambulance. "The soldiers are always around the school and there is a building close to the school, where soldiers are stationed on the roof. Nothing was happening in the school on that day and there was no justification for what happened. None of the students were doing anything." A fundamental principle of international humanitarian and human rights law is children's right to education. Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared that education is a basic right of all people and in 1958 the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child again proclaimed the right to education for all children. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, articles 28,29, 2 and 4, outline the basic rights of children to receive an unobstructed education that encourages their development and learning. The Fourth Geneva Convention, which pertains to war and belligerent occupation, states in Article 50 that an occupier must "facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the care and education of children." DCI/PS research documented 49 cases of schools hit by Israeli ammunition or raided by Israeli settlers or soldiers in the year 2000. In other words, 2.7% of the 1832 Palestinian schools were affected by this form of collective punishment. A large number of these attacks took place while students were in class. To put this figure in perspective, it is equivalent to over 3100 elementary and secondary schools in the US coming under attack by a foreign army in the last 3 months of the year 2000. Most recently, on 20 February 2001, Israeli forces attacked the Al Wataniya School for Blind Girl Children. The school was seriously damaged and tens of blind children and school personnel were terrorized during the attack. DCI/PS strongly condemns the ongoing attacks on children while studying at school and as such, calls for the following: 1. That the Israeli government immediately end its assault against Palestinian civilians and fulfill its obligations under international law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which came into effect in Israel on 2 November 1991. 2. That the international community take immediate and effective action, either individually or collectively, to ensure that Israel abides by international humanitarian and human rights law. Correspondence can be directed to the following institutions and individuals: US President George W. Bush Fax:202-456-2461 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Fax: ? 2 566 4838 Defence for Children International/Palestine Section is an independent, Palestinian non-governmental organization, established in 1992 to promote and protect the rights of Palestinian children as articulated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as in other international instruments. DCI/PS, P.O. Box 55201, Jerusalem Tel: ? 2 240 7530 Fax: ? 2 240 7018 (Note: please try and use ?, if the above country code does not work) Email: dcipal@palnet.com END |