Palestinian kids. An hour and a half to get to school (Archive photo)
Photo: AP
Ma'on farm settlement
Photo: Alex Kolmoisky
Kids exposed to settlers’ wrath
IDF suspends escort of Palestinian school children in wake of recent West Bank terror attacks. Kids now forced to take extra-long route to reach school
Palestinian children from the West Bank village of Um Tuba have until recent days been escorted daily by soldiers on their way to school, to prevent them from being harassed by neighboring settlers.
However, in wake of the recent terror attacks in Gush Etzion, the army has decided to suspend the escort, forcing the children to take a different route to school that goes around the settlement of Ma'on and Carmel.
As a result, instead of walking two kilometers (1.25 miles) to get to their destination, the children must now travel 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) - a journey of about an hour and a half - in order to get to school.
A resident of the village told Ynet that the soldiers simply stopped coming, without giving any notice.
Villagers decided that the kids take the longer way to school, he said, so that they are not hurt by the settlers.
IDF: Escorts on hold until situation calms down
The IDF explained it has decided to temporarily cancel the escort in order to prevent Palestinian children from getting near the Ma'on settlement where residents are currently mourning the death of one of the community's members, killed in the terror attack Sunday.
"It makes no sense that while a family is sitting Shiva over its son who was killed in a terror attack, Palestinians will go through the area when they can choose a different route," an IDF source said.
"It has therefore been decided that the escort be cancelled for several days, until the situation calms down," he added.
Palestinians residents in the area say they have suffered violent harassments in the hands of the settlers since the beginning of the intifada.
The repeating attacks on the villagers and their children have been brought for discussion at the Knesset children's rights committee by peace activists, and the committee has ordered the IDF to provide escort to the Palestinian school kids.
"The army cannot decide on its own to suspend the escort, contrary to the Knesset's decision," a peace activist said.
