Palestinian Ministry of Education on Monday morning exceptionally opened the new school year at Khan al-Ahmar’s only school in defiance of the Israeli plan to demolish the village.
More than 170 students attended alongside their families as Minister of Education Sabri Saidam declared the beginning of the school year at Khan al-Ahmar school.
The opening ceremony was also attended by secretary of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council Majed al-Fatiani head of the National Committee Against the Wall and Settlements Walid Assaf head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission Issa Qaraqe and a number of activists.
Saidam denounced the ongoing Israeli violations against the families of Khan al-Ahmar and stressed that Israel’s plan to demolish the Bedouin village and its only school will not pass.
For his part Walid Assaf said that opening the school year early in Khan al-Ahmar is a strategic decision that sends a message to the Israeli authorities that demolishing the village and displacing its residents is not acceptable.
Israel’s Supreme Court had decided to freeze the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar pending examination of a petition filed against the project.
Demolition of Khan al-Ahmar is part of a larger project prepared by Israel’s Minister of Agriculture Uri Ariel in 1979 to uproot all Bedouin communities east of Jerusalem.
