ABU NUWAR, West Bank: Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorised building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time.

"The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court," said a statement from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the E.U. office in Jerusalem, said: "The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians."

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was "the continuation of Israel's humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life." </s> ABU NUWAR, West Bank - Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the West Bank because they said they were built illegally.



Palestinians condemned the move.



The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.



Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.



It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time. </s> ABU NUWAR, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorised building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time.

“The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court,” said a statement from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the E.U. office in Jerusalem, said: “The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians.”

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was “the continuation of Israel’s humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life.” </s> ABU NUWAR, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Palestinians condemned the move.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorized building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time.

“The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court,” said a statement from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the E.U. office in Jerusalem, said: “The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians.”

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was “the continuation of Israel’s humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life.” </s> ABU NUWAR, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorized building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time.

“The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court,” said a statement from Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the E.U. office in Jerusalem, said: “The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians.”

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was “the continuation of Israel’s humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life.” </s> ABU NUWAR, West Bank, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorized building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organizations and E.U. funding, reconstruct it each time.

"The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court," said a statement from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the E.U. office in Jerusalem, said: "The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians."

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was "the continuation of Israel's humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life." (Reporting by Ali Sawafta; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg) </s> Abu Nuwar, West Bank: Israeli authorities on Sunday tore down two EU-funded classrooms that were part of a school for Bedouins in the occupied West Bank because they said they were built illegally.

Israeli authorities say such demolitions carry out court rulings against unauthorised building by Palestinians. Palestinians see it as part of a broader move to seize land for potential Jewish settlement expansion.

The two classrooms, which stood separately from the rest of the hilltop school, were demolished early in the morning by a work crew while Israeli security officers closed off the area, according to residents of the Palestinian village Abu Nuwar.

Tens of thousands of Bedouin, once nomads, live in villages across the desert region of southern Israel and in the West Bank.

It was the fifth time the school has been demolished since 2016, Palestinian officials said. Residents, with the help of non-government organisations and EU funding, reconstruct it each time.

"The building was built illegally and without the necessary permits. In addition, the enforcement was approved by the Supreme Court," said a statement from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military-run authority that deals with Palestinian civilian issues.

Shadi Othman, head of media in the EU office in Jerusalem, said: "The European Union demanded from Israel more than once not to demolish projects the European Union funds and which aim to improve the living conditions of the Palestinians."

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Twitter the demolition was "the continuation of Israel's humiliation of international law and only aims to break the Palestinian will for freedom and life."

Israel has been expanding its reach into the West Bank in recent years with additional settlements.

On Sunday it granted legal status to a previously unauthorised outpost in response to a Palestinian shooting attack last month that killed one of its residents.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the decision to retroactively authorise the 50-family outpost of Havat Gilad was meant to "allow the continuation of normal life there".

Palestinian officials condemned the move and said it seemed to be the result of a change in US policy toward Israel.

US President Donald Trump in December recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, breaking with decades of US policy that the city's status must be decided in peace negotiations.

East Jerusalem was captured by Israel in a 1967 war, and Palestinians want it for the capital of a future state.

About 350,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank and a further 200,000 in occupied East Jerusalem. Beyond the major blocs, most of which are close to the border with Israel, there are more than 100 settlement outposts scattered across hilltops in the West Bank.

Most countries consider settlements illegal – a position reinforced by a UN Security Council resolution passed in December 2016 - and a major obstacle to Israeli-Palestinian peace as they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians need for a viable state. </s> The United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Sunday that at least 45 schools in Palestine were facing the threat of destruction by the Israeli authority.

In a released statement, the OCHA acting Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories Roberto Valent pointed out that a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem was destroyed by Israeli soldiers, and added: "The demolition was carried out on grounds of lack of Israeli-issued permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain."

"As in Abu Nuwar, hundreds of children attending one of at least 45 schools in the West Bank (37 in Area C and 8 in East Jerusalem) with pending demolition orders are living in instability, with the specter of school demolition ever-present, threatening their access to education," Valent said in the statement.

According to the statement, Israeli soldiers destroyed two classrooms serving 26 Palestinian school children in the Bedouin and refugee community of Abu Nuwar, located in Area C on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

The education of the children at the school was financed by the European Union, it said noting that the demolishing happened without permission.

Valent added: "Abu Nuwar is one of the most vulnerable communities in need of humanitarian assistance in the occupied West Bank. The conditions it faces also represent those of many Palestinian communities, where a combination of Israeli policies and practices – including demolitions and restricted access to basic services, such as education – have created a coercive environment that violates the human rights of residents and generates a risk of forcible transfer. This is the sixth demolition or confiscation incident in Abu Nuwar school by the Israeli authorities since February 2016."

The 1995 Oslo agreement between Israel and Palestine has divided West Bank into the area 'A', 'B' and 'C'. The administrative and security authority of the area A was given to Palestine while the administration of area B was given to Palestine and security to Israel and in area C areas both administration and security were provided by Israel.

The 700-person Abu Nuwar Bedouin community, who live in the area C, refused to leave their villages despite continuous threats and pressures from the Israeli authority. </s> Israel on Sunday said it plans to legalize an isolated West Bank outpost in response to the murder of one of its residents in a shooting attack last month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his weekly Cabinet meeting that his government will legalize Havat Gilad to “allow the continuing of normal life there.”

“Whoever thought that through the reprehensible murder of a resident of Havat Gilad, a father of six, that our spirit can be broken and we can be weakened, is making a bitter mistake,” Netanyahu said.

Last month, Rabbi Raziel Shevah, 35, was shot dead from a passing vehicle as he drove near his home in the unauthorized settlement outpost near the Palestinian city of Nablus. The Israeli military is still searching the area for suspects.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, areas the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel has established about 120 West Bank settlements, which it considers legal. In addition, about 100 settlement outposts have been erected without official approval but Israel generally tolerates them. Most of the international community considers all Jewish West Bank settlements illegal.

Havat Gilad, a community of a few hundred Israelis, is among these rogue outposts and is located deep inside the West Bank, away from areas Israel expects to keep under any peace deal with the Palestinians. Critics see their expansion as complicating peace efforts.

The anti-settlement group Peace Now called the effort to legalize the outpost a “cynical exploitation of the murder.”

Meanwhile, Israel on Sunday demolished a two-classroom school in a Bedouin community in the West Bank, saying the EU-funded structure was built illegally without proper permits and that it was in a precarious condition. The school served nearly 30 third and fourth grade students who were moved to a nearby guesthouse and barbershop to continue classes.

A statement from Cogat, the Israeli defence body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, said the demolition was approved after it had been challenged in Israel’s Supreme Court.

The EU delegation to Israel called on the country to “meet its obligations as occupying power vis-a-vis the Palestinian population.”

“Children should not be left without classrooms,” it said in a statement.

Roberto Valent, an official with the U.N. humanitarian agency OCHA, said he was “deeply concerned” by the demolition. In a statement, he said the Israeli-issued permits were “nearly impossible to obtain” and that demolitions such as Sunday’s, among other Israeli policies, “have created a coercive environment that violates the human rights of residents and generates a risk of forcible transfer.”

The demolition took place near the settlement of Maaleh Adumim, in the 60 per cent of the West Bank known as Area C that remains under full Israeli control. Israel has imposed severe restrictions on Palestinian development in this area, home to dozens of Israeli settlements.

The EU funds the construction of many homes, schools and other structures in the area and says the projects are needed for humanitarian reasons and economic development.

Israel says that any assistance to Palestinians in Area C must be co-ordinated with authorities. </s> Scuffles broke out on Wednesday between Israeli authorities and protesters who feared preparations were underway to raze a Bedouin village in a strategic part of the occupied West Bank, despite international calls for a reprieve.

Protesters, including some waving Palestinian flags, tried to block a bulldozer and scuffled with police at Khan al-Ahmar on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. Some climbed onto the bulldozer in protest.

Israeli rights group B'Tselem said nine people were arrested -- five from the village and four others, including the organization's own head of field research.

The Palestinian Red Crescent reported 35 people injured, with four taken to hospital.

Police reported two arrests and said stones were thrown at officers.

The incident came after activists said the Israeli military had issued a warrant to the 173 residents of Khan al-Ahmar on Tuesday, authorizing itself to seize access roads to the village.

Heavy equipment was seen around the village on Wednesday, prompting speculation a road was being prepared to facilitate its evacuation and demolition.

"Today they are proceeding with infrastructure work to facilitate the demolition and forcible transfer of residents," Amit Gilutz, spokesman for B'Tselem, told AFP.

Israeli authorities say the village and its school were built illegally, and in May the supreme court rejected a final appeal against its demolition.

But activists say the villagers had little alternative but to build without Israeli construction permits, as the documents are almost never issued to Palestinians for building in parts of the West Bank where Israel has full control over civilian affairs.

Israel authorities say they have offered villagers an alternative site.

The village is made up mainly of makeshift structures of tin and wood, as is traditionally the case with Bedouin villages.

Britain's minister of state for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, visited the village in May and called on the Israeli government to show restraint.

He warned that any forced relocation "could constitute forcible transfer of people as far as the United Nations is concerned."

Such an action would be considered a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Khan al-Ahmar is located east of Jerusalem near several major Israeli settlement blocs and close to a highway leading to the Dead Sea.

Activists are concerned continued Israeli settlement construction in the area could effectively divide the West Bank in two.

In another Bedouin village in the same region, Abu Nuwar, Israel carried out a series of demolitions Wednesday on what it described as illegally built structures.

B'Tselem said nine residential structures and three agricultural ones were demolished, leaving 62 people homeless.

The Israeli defense ministry's COGAT unit for civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories said the demolitions had taken place after the "owners of the buildings failed to utilize the planning procedures to their fullest extent".

"This despite the fact that they were given the opportunity to inquire in the matter and were told that if they did not, the illegal construction would be demolished," it said in a statement.
Israeli authorities tear down parts of a European Union-funded school in the Palestinian village of Abu Nuwar, on the occupied West Bank, saying it was built illegally. Palestinians say this is the fifth such demolition since 2016, with residents and NGO's each time reconstructing it.