A delegation from the Palestinian Ministry of Education, international partners, media, and representatives of human rights and civil society institutions on Monday traveled to Masafer Yatta, in the south of the occupied West Bank, to inspect the schools in those hard-hit areas threatened with extinction by the Israeli military government.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said that the delegation was detained by the Israeli army between the villages of al-Tabban and al-Markaz.

Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Sadeq al-Khaddour, told his guests that schoolchildren, especially in Masafer Yatta and schools near settlements, face daily difficulties in reaching their schools due to obstructions and attacks by the occupation forces and settlers.

The Israeli government plans to destroy around eight Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta and displace more than 1000 people after declaring the area as a firing and military training zone. It often carries out demolitions, particularly of schools, to prevent a long-term stay for the residents in that area.

The displacement decision, backed by the Israeli High Court which gave the Israeli army in May the greenlight to remove the Palestinians from that area, has led to an international outcry calling on Israel to cancel all such plans and allow the Palestinians in Masafer Yatta to have a normal life.