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The headteacher of al-Mughayyir boys school arrived before dawn on the first day of term to find the compound secured with fresh barbed wire and reinforced gates, according to a report by BBC News. Bassam al-Assaf said, “We are scared. The students are afraid, and their parents are afraid.” Six residents, including three pupils at the school, have been killed in the village this year amid a surge in settler-related violence.
The school lies on the outskirts of al-Mughayyir, an isolated community northeast of Ramallah that has become increasingly encircled by Israeli settler outposts, many of which are illegal under both international and Israeli law, the BBC correspondent reported from the scene. One of the victims was 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan, shot dead by a settler outside the school gates in April. Ambulance crews have been stationed outside the facility and volunteer parents provide additional protection throughout the school day.
This incident reflects a pattern of disruption to Palestinian education across the West Bank, where the Ministry of Education and Higher Education figures show around 846,000 students returned to 2,537 schools on September 6 under the supervision of 54,000 teachers. In previous years, financial strains, movement restrictions and violence meant many pupils attended classes only twice weekly, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel reported. The rights group highlighted how checkpoints, settler blockades and attacks have eroded learning outcomes and student motivation.
Human Rights Watch has documented repeated settler attacks in al-Mughayyir and nearby villages such as Qaryut, including shootings and destruction of agricultural land that have displaced families and affected children’s access to education. In one case earlier this year, settlers assaulted a home in Qaryut, killing three men from the same family, according to the organisation’s findings. Such incidents have contributed to a climate of fear that prompted the installation of protective measures at the al-Mughayyir school.
The barbed wire installation at the school comes as pupils return to West Bank school behind barbed wire to protect against settlers, underscoring the extraordinary security measures now routine in parts of the occupied territory. Israeli settlements in the West Bank are considered illegal under international law, a position reiterated in multiple United Nations assessments. Local residents have volunteered to monitor the school perimeter to deter potential threats.
Similar scenes unfolded in April in the village of Umm al-Khair near Hebron, where settlers erected barbed wire across a path used by dozens of children to reach their school, prompting protests and reports of tear gas being fired at pupils, Reuters reported. B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, described such actions as part of a coordinated effort to intimidate Palestinians and force them from their land. The cumulative effect has been the loss of classroom time for thousands of West Bank children, exacerbating educational inequalities in the region.
