The United Nations on Monday called on Israel to respect Palestinian children’s right to education and stop demolitions of schools.

“A child’s right to education must be respected. I call on Israeli authorities to cease such demolitions and evictions which are illegal under international law, and to approve plans for Palestinian communities to build legally in Area C to address their development needs, including for schools,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, stated.

Wennesland made his comments in response to the demolition by the Israeli occupation authorities of the donor-funded Jubbet Adh Dhib School in the small Palestinian village of Bayt Ta’mar, to the east of Bethlehem, on Sunday.

He expressed his “deep” disturbance over the demolition of the European Union-funded Palestinian primary school, a demolition that directly affected the education of at least 40 children, while pointing that “the demolition followed an Israeli court order citing safety concerns in response to a petition by a settler organization.”

“Currently, 58 schools, serving 6,500 children, face the threat of demolition due to a lack of building permits that are almost impossible for Palestinians to obtain,” he added.

“As I reiterated at the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting in Brussels last week, such acts that negatively impact basic service delivery for Palestinians threaten stability and undermine the Palestinian Authority. Moreover, persistent drivers of conflict, including demolitions, breed a climate of mistrust and tension between Palestinians and Israelis and undermine the prospect of achieving a political solution,” he concluded.