What Happened
Nearly 13,000 Palestinian students face growing uncertainty as 84 schools across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem remain subject to Israeli demolition or stop-work orders. The figures come from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which notes that fifty-four of these institutions face complete demolition while orders against the remaining 30 target individual buildings or other parts of their facilities.
The orders do not mean every school will be demolished immediately. Some cases remain before Israeli courts while several communities have obtained temporary injunctions. However, the orders leave thousands of students, teachers and families uncertain about whether their schools will remain open for the new academic year.
The Timeline
The danger became a reality at Sha’ab al-Butum school in Masafer Yatta on 4 August. Israeli authorities demolished two administrative rooms and a storage room, citing the absence of an Israeli-issued building permit. The main classroom building remains intact but it is also subject to a demolition order.
The UN reported that the demolition affected 54 school and kindergarten students and 14 education workers, including 11 teachers. Rubble left beside the surviving building also created safety and access concerns before the beginning of the new academic year. Reconstruction has been placed on hold because anything rebuilt could face another demolition order.
A court hearing concerning the remaining school building is scheduled for 15 September. Local officials say all seven schools across the wider Masafer Yatta area face demolition threats. It faced imminent demolition after a community appeal was rejected in July, but a temporary injunction was subsequently secured, suspending the demolition while further court proceedings continue.
Who Said What
According to the UN’s Education Cluster, the affected schools serve nearly 13,000 students. Most are situated in Area C of the occupied West Bank while others are within Israeli-defined municipal boundaries in East Jerusalem. Area C remains under full Israeli administrative and military control.
Israeli authorities generally issue demolition orders against Palestinian structures constructed without Israeli permits. However, the UN says the planning system makes obtaining those permits nearly impossible for Palestinians. Homes, schools, water infrastructure and other essential buildings are consequently constructed without permits, leaving them vulnerable to demolition.
The threat is especially serious for isolated Palestinian communities where the affected school may be the only educational facility within reasonable travelling distance. Since 2009, the UN has documented more than 100 demolition incidents involving over 300 structures in these communities. More than 60 per cent of those structures had reportedly been provided as humanitarian assistance.
Why This Matters
Masafer Yatta is located in the southern occupied West Bank and includes communities situated inside an area Israel designated as Firing Zone 918. Approximately 1,200 Palestinians live within the affected communities, including more than 500 children. Since 2023, the displacement of Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities has reportedly resulted in 10 schools being abandoned.
Ar Rifa’iyya Mixed Basic School, east of Yatta, serves 175 students from kindergarten through to Year 7. For students, demolition orders can cause disruption long before bulldozers arrive. Humanitarian organisations have instead been working to clear the rubble and provide psychological support to affected students.