Israel to auction classrooms donated by EU to Palestinian children

Israel’s Defense Ministry is planning to auction off two remaining prefab classrooms that were donated to Palestinian schoolchildren by the European Union, only to be confiscated by the Israeli body that runs the West Bank.

The auction is due to be held next week, according to the Guardian which reportedly saw an advertisement that ran in the Israeli newspaper Maariv. It will take place in the offices of the Civil Administration which tore down and confiscated the classrooms last October.

The classrooms had been intended for 49 students in grades one to six in Ibziq, in the northern occupied West Bank. The classrooms were funded by the EU and EU member states.

When they were dismantled the EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemned Israeli authorities for dismantling the prefabs and called on them to rebuild the structures in the same place “without delay.”

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“Every child has the right to access education and States have an obligation to protect, respect and fulfil this right, by ensuring that schools are inviolable safe spaces for children,” read the EU statement.

The EU has held a long-standing position in the dispute over the occupied territories, and has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to halt demolitions and the confiscation of Palestinian houses and property.

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