In the West Bank, many rural communities located in 'Area C' are deprived of quality public infrastructure and services, especially in the field of education. While the construction of sufficient educational facilities for all children is severely constrained by Israeli policies of denying building permits to Palestinians, the ability of Palestinian public authorities to maintain existing infrastructure is limited by the military occupation and its negative impact on freedom of movement and planning and zoning. Deprivation of public services is another tool of the Israeli settler colonial project to forcibly displace Palestinians from rural areas where illegal settlements are spread. 19.

Access to education for the Palestinian population is conditioned on a daily basis by Israeli occupation policies and violence which, in addition to directly affecting the student population, have resulted in the loss of many school days. Palestinian female students are often subjected to gender-specific intimidation or humiliation on their way to schools and universities, especially at Israeli checkpoints. 20 Reports have warned of the vulnerability that particularly affects Palestinian girls and young women living in Area C of the West Bank due to their limited access to education and poor educational infrastructure.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, children and their parents have to bravely make their way to school, facing obstacles and violence that few would know exist. Since 2019 in the West Bank, more than 50,000 Palestinian children have been affected by education-related incidents resulting from the Israeli occupation. 21. Of the 58 schools under threat of demolition, 50 are in Area C and 8 in East Jerusalem. These 58 schools serve around 6,550 children and 700 teachers. In 2022, Israeli authorities ordered the demolition or suspension of construction of six schools in Area C, affecting more than 206 students and 41 teachers.

Israeli authorities carried out three school demolitions in incidents in 2022, targeting two schools. The Isfey Al Fauqa school in Masafer Yatta was demolished twice (on 23 November and 6 December), affecting more than 85 students and 18 teachers. In this area, as well as in Hebron's H2 area, many girls drop out of school due to economic hardship in their families and/or to help with household chores or as a measure to avoid exposure to violence or harassment. Despite the obstacles, Palestinian girls and young women in general have made progress in their levels of literacy, education and tertiary level training. In fact, 53% of tertiary-aged females are in tertiary education, compared to 32% of males in the same age group, according to recent figures (2017) . Some studies suggest that the higher participation rate of Palestinian women in higher education may reflect the higher social value of women's education in Palestinian society, but also that Palestinians of the same age may be in prison or forced to drop out of school and work to support their children. families. Education has been a source of hope and transformation for the Palestinian people.

Since the beginning of the war in Gaza (23 October), education has been suspended in all 19 higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip, annihilating all universities in Gaza. More than 90 academics and scientists have been killed, including Sufyan Tayeh , rector of the Islamic University of Gaza, and 90,000 university students are unable to attend classes.

Israeli military attacks on Palestinian educational infrastructure are not a new phenomenon. The Islamic University in Gaza has been bombed before, in 2008, 2009 and 2014. Most recently, in August this year, Israel faced international criticism after demolishing a school in the occupied West Bank, just days before the start of a new school year. According to a recent UNESCO report, between January 2019 and September 2021, at least 305 schools and kindergartens in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip were hit by Israeli explosive weapons. The term "schoolcide" was coined as early as 2009 "to describe Israel's attacks on educational institutions following the destruction of "Operation Cast Lead" and repeated in the 2023-2024 Gaza offensive.