Palestinian students walk to their school while Israeli soldiers stand guard in the village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Nov. 18, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian students walk to their school while Israeli soldiers stand guard in the village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Nov. 18, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian students are seen at al-Lubban secondary school in the village of al-Lubban al-Sharqiya near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Nov. 24, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

Palestinian students are seen at the al-Lubban secondary school in the village of al-Lubban al-Sharqiya near the West Bank city of Nablus, on Nov. 24, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
Every day, about 900 Palestinian students have to walk several kilometers to the only school in their village of al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya south of Nablus city in the West Bank.

However, the often attacks from the Jewish settlers at the two Israeli settlements built within the Palestinian village, for no apparent reason, have always made their way to the school fraught with danger and difficulty.

Abdullah Daraghmeh, one of the 900 students, told Xinhua that he has been subjected to attacks for more than 10 times.

"I did not know why the settlers beat me and my mates. I could not protect myself from such attacks, but day by day, the violations have been only increasing," the 17-year-old told Xinhua.

The teenager expressed fears about having to drop out if he keeps failing to reach the school for study.

"I dream of studying at the university and becoming a lawyer who would bring the Israeli soldiers and settlers to justice," he said.

"They (the Israelis) are scaring our children a lot and they become more introverted and do not want to pursue education," said Ibrahim Salem, a 42-year-old father of six from the al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya village.

Roaa Nobany, a 12-year-old girl, said she has also been attacked by settlers so often that her father has to escort her to the school on a daily basis for the sake of her safety.

"Very often and without any prior warning, I find settlers standing on my way and preventing me and my mates from going to school," Nobany said, dreading the possibility of being killed by settlers or even soldiers, the latter of whom would defend the settlers in the case that she tried to protect herself with a knife.

Yasser Ghazi, the school's director, also warned that the Israeli authorities acquiesce in the settlers' attacks on Palestinian students and village residents, which "makes matters worse."

"The Israeli authorities closed the street leading to the school and prevented students from accessing it through the main road, forcing the students to take bumpy and unpaved roads," he explained.

The students are subjected to detention for hours and even arrests, Ghazi said, adding his school is attacked regularly by poisonous gas.

Sabri Saidam, former Palestinian education minister, said in a press statement that the al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya school "constitutes the first line of confrontation with the Israelis, in the light of the continuing violations and settlers' attacks against the village's school and students."

According to a statement issued in August by Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian and resident coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, 24 Palestinian children, five girls and 19 boys, had been injured by settlers in the West Bank since the beginning of the year.

"Israel has a responsibility to protect children and teachers from harassment and violence by settlers on their way to and from school, and in any event," said Hastings.