As children across the UK have returned to school this autumn, the children of Masafer Yatta have continued to endure and resist Israel’s attempts to ethnically cleanse them from their land. We must take action as Israel continues to target teachers and students in its latest breach of international law in the South Hebron Hills.

Masafer Yatta is a rural area in the south of the illegally occupied West Bank. It is home to more than 1000 Palestinians including 500 children. For decades Israel has sought to seize Masafer Yatta from its Palestinian inhabitants. In the 1980s Israel declared 3000 hectares of the area a ‘restricted military zone’ for the training of Israeli Occupation Forces.

In May this year, after more than 20 years of legal battles, Israel’s Supreme Court approved the forced eviction of Palestinians from Masafer Yatta. This violates the Fourth Geneva Convention which states that a population under occupation (Palestinians in Masafer Yatta) cannot be forcibly transferred by the power that occupies them (Israel).

Yet international law has not deterred the human rights-abusing state of Israel from its ethnic cleansing program. Since May, attacks on Palestinians have intensified in a bid to force them to leave their ancestral lands. Israeli Occupation Forces have raided villages, seized vehicles and regularly inflicted violence on Palestinian men, women and children. Last week Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem appealed to the International Criminal Court in a bid to prevent Israel commiting a war crime against the Palestinians of Masafer Yatta.

For students and teachers in Masafer Yatta, the return to school has been harrowing. At the start of term Israeli Occupation Forces detained seven teachers in the village of Fakheit in Masafer Yatta. This violence has continued since, with teachers and students now regularly prevented from getting to school by Israeli Occupation Forces.

Schools themselves are also under threat in Masafer Yatta. Last month the Israeli Supreme Court rejected an appeal to save two schools in Khirbet al-Fakheet and Jinba in Masafer Yatta from demolition. These schools have previously served many children in Masafer Yatta from primary through to secondary school.

The children of Masafer Yatta and their right to education must be protected. We must increase the pressure on MPs to support sanctions on Israel until it stops violating international law.

Take 30 seconds to write to your MP or join #TeamFOA today to help protect the teachers and students of Masafer Yatta.

#DefendMasaferYatta #SaveMasaferYatta #UNinvestigateApartheid #EndIsraeliApartheid