Israeli forces raid two West Bank schools on first day of academic year

The new school year began in the occupied West Bank with Israeli forces raiding two schools in Nablus province. At Huwwara Boys Secondary School, south of Nablus, soldiers entered the grounds, threatened the administration and demanded that a Palestinian flag be removed.

Another Israeli force entered Burqa Boys Secondary School northwest of Nablus. Local sources reported no injuries or arrests in either raid.

The incidents occurred as 846,289 students returned to 2,537 government, private and United Nations-run schools across the West Bank. The Palestinian Education Ministry said 634,294 students attend 1,967 government schools, 163,787 attend 480 private schools and 48,208 attend 90 schools run by UNRWA.

The ministry said the academic year also began in occupied East Jerusalem despite Israeli measures targeting Palestinian schools, teachers, students and curricula. It opened four additional primary schools in remote and Bedouin areas facing threats of demolition and forced displacement in Area C, and allocated $1.5 million for student buses in affected communities.

In Gaza, administrative and teaching staff are scheduled to return on Sept. 16, with students expected back on Sept. 19. Authorities are preparing about 700 in-person learning sites and 25 temporary schools for more than half a million students. Online education will continue for students unable to reach those facilities, allowing about 541,000 students to continue their education with the available resources. The ministry said hundreds of thousands of Gaza students have been deprived of regular schooling since Israel began its war in October 2023, while many schools have become shelters for displaced Palestinians.