In numbers.. Violations of the occupation in the education sector in Palestine

Due to its financial crisis, the Palestinian Authority did not open the new academic year in the West Bank, which was scheduled for last Monday, but postponed it by a week, while students in the Gaza Strip continue to be deprived of education since the end of October 2023.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa emphasized during his government's weekly session that the economic and financial challenges are "politically motivated," adding that efforts are underway to secure a payment of salaries for public employees within days, as government employees received their last salary at the end of July at a rate of 60% for the month of May.

For the fourth consecutive month, Israel refuses to transfer tax revenues it collects from the crossings it controls for the benefit of the Authority, which have exceeded 3 billion shekels, from which the majority of the salary bill is paid.

Mustafa pointed to preparations for the start of the academic year on time, but postponed it "due to Israeli policies that have cast a shadow over the financial and economic situation," considering this a "message to the international community that Israeli measures affect all aspects of life in Palestine, including education."

Below is an informational overview of the reality of education in Palestine and the violations of the occupation in this sector since October 7, 2023, based on data from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education up to September 2 of this year.

The total number of school students in the West Bank, including Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, is estimated at about 1.53 million students, of whom 829,705 are in the West Bank and about 700,000 in the Gaza Strip.

While students in the Gaza Strip continue to be deprived of education due to the genocide war, students in the West Bank for the 2026/2025 academic year are distributed as follows: 623,140 in public schools, 47,301 students in schools of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and 159,264 students in private schools.

According to data from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the number of schools for the 2026/2025 academic year in the West Bank is 2,497: including 1,948 public schools, 96 affiliated with the agency, and 453 private schools.

The total number of teachers is 53,111, of whom 40,127 are in public sector schools, 1,958 in UNRWA schools, and 1,026 in private schools.

The violations of the occupation have affected the education sector in all its components, including schools and universities, which have lost 18,877 of their students and educational staff, in addition to 33,652 injured.

At the level of schools in both the West Bank and Gaza, 17,345 students have been martyred, and 26,200 have been injured, while 746 educational staff members have been martyred and 3,117 injured.

In the Gaza Strip alone, 17,237 students have been martyred, and the number of injured has reached 25,000, while in the West Bank, the number of martyrs among school students due to occupation gunfire is 108, with 741 injured and 379 arrested.

Regarding educational staff, the number of martyrs among school staff in Gaza is 741, with 3,096 injured, compared to 5 martyrs among school staff in the West Bank, 21 injured, and 182 arrested.

As for universities, the total number of martyrs among their students and staff is 1,532, and the number of injured is 4,335, with the number of student martyrs from Gaza universities being 1,271, and the injured 2,683, compared to 35 martyrs from West Bank universities, 231 injured, and 413 arrested.

Additionally, 226 educational staff members in universities have been martyred, and 1,438 have been injured, all from Gaza.

The occupation has destroyed more than 63 university buildings completely, in addition to more than 172 public schools, while 118 other public schools have been partially destroyed due to bombing and vandalism, in addition to more than 100 UNRWA schools that have been bombed and vandalized.

In the West Bank, 152 schools have been vandalized, and 28 schools with their students and teachers have been removed from the educational register due to the displacement of the communities they served due to occupation attacks.

Meanwhile, 8 universities have been vandalized and stormed.