Palestinian Education: 350 Children in Occupation Prisons Face Systematic Deprivation of Education

The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education reported that Israeli occupation authorities continue to detain approximately 350 Palestinian children in their prisons, under detention conditions that violate all international laws and norms. The Ministry clarified in a statement on the occasion of Palestinian Prisoner's Day that these children are subjected to continuous violations aimed at breaking their will and depriving them of their basic rights.

The Ministry considered that targeting students and children is not merely isolated incidents, but rather part of a systematic Israeli policy to undermine the Palestinian educational system. It affirmed that depriving these young ones of their school seats represents a direct assault on the future of coming generations and an attempt to keep Palestinian society ignorant by disappearing its young cadres behind bars.

Official data indicates that child prisoners suffer from repressive policies including terrifying night arrests and harsh interrogations that lack the minimum standards of justice. The prison service also practices solitary confinement and deprivation of visits against them, in addition to deliberate medical neglect and ill-treatment that leave deep psychological and physical scars.

The Ministry based its report on documented testimonies revealing that occupation forces raid children's homes at night and take them away with their hands tied and eyes blindfolded. These practices, according to the statement, constitute a flagrant violation of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which imposes special protection for minors and prohibits their abuse or detention in inhumane conditions.

Educational bodies stressed that the issue of prisoners will remain present in the conscience of the Palestinian people and at the core of the educational and national message. They affirmed their full commitment to supporting student prisoners and enhancing their steadfastness by all available means, considering that education will remain a tool for survival and building in the face of the occupation's continuous attempts to erase national identity.

For its part, human rights sources indicated that the total number of prisoners in Israeli prisons has exceeded 9,600 Palestinians, including 73 women living in tragic conditions. These sources confirmed that prisoners face systematic campaigns of starvation and torture, the intensity of which has escalated recently, leading to the martyrdom of dozens inside detention centers.

Palestinians commemorate Palestinian Prisoner's Day on April 17th of each year, a day adopted by the Palestinian National Council since 1974 in loyalty to the prisoners. On this day, widespread solidarity marches and events are launched in various Palestinian governorates and the diaspora to emphasize the freedom of prisoners as an undeniable national demand.

In a joint statement by prisoner institutions, it was emphasized that the reality of detainees has transformed from traditional occupation policies into part of a comprehensive system of violence linked to crimes of genocide. The institutions clarified that prisons are no longer just places of detention, but have turned into spaces for practicing integrated patterns of physical and psychological abuse against the Palestinian existence.

Human rights reports also revealed an accumulation of horrific evidence and testimonies documenting crimes of rape, sexual assault, and systematic torture inside detention camps. These crimes come within a repressive structure aimed at destroying the human dignity of prisoners, amidst a deafening international silence regarding these blatant human rights violations.

In conclusion of its statement, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education called on all international and human rights institutions to assume their legal and moral responsibilities to pressure Israel to stop these violations. It called for the immediate and unconditional release of all children and school students, and to ensure their safe return to continue their educational journey away from the terror of prisons.

The arrest of students and their deprivation of the right to education represents a systematic policy aimed at undermining the awareness and future of the Palestinian people.