In the context of the broad Israeli escalation in the West Bank, in which the occupation forces and government-backed settler gangs alternate, the Arab al-Kaabneh School was subjected to attacks the day before yesterday by settlers who stormed it, beat its students and teaching staff, and pursued them in its courtyards and classrooms, which a number of analysts considered a translation of an official Israeli policy based on an extremist vision that seeks to completely empty the land of its original owners.

A true embodiment of the organized terrorism carried out by the occupying state

The General Supervisor of the Al-Baidar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, Attorney Hassan Malihat, condemned the terrorist attack by settlers on the Arab Al-Kaabneh Elementary School in Al-Ma'rajat, northwest of Jericho, in the eastern West Bank.

He said, "This surprise attack carried out by settlers filled with a culture of death and hatred against the Arab al-Ka'abneh Elementary School in al-Mu'arrajat, and the assault and abuse of students and teachers, and the tying up of the principal of the Arab al-Ka'abneh Elementary School, and the creation of a state of hysterical terror among the young students, is a true embodiment of the organized terrorism carried out by the occupying state through its arms of settler gangs, who carry Talmudic ideas that are leading the region into a religious war."

He pointed out that these attacks are a recipe for igniting an explosion in the region, and at the same time they are a war on the Palestinian identity of the place, without regard to international covenants, laws and norms, and depriving children and girls of obtaining education as a fixed human right.

Malihat added: The occupation's attacks and crimes against educational institutions in Bedouin communities constitute a flagrant violation of students' rights and the guarantee of their right to safe and free education.

He called on all international legal, human rights and media institutions and organizations to assume their legal and moral responsibilities towards the escalating violations of the occupation, and to work to curb these aggressive practices, expose them and raise them in all forums and fields, and provide protection and support for students and educational cadres.

He continued: These organized attacks also come within the framework of the occupation's attempts to resolve the conflict in areas classified as "C" in favor of the settlers, by displacing Palestinians from their land, and influencing the conditions of demographic development of the place by increasing the number of Jews and eliminating the Palestinian presence, and to impose a policy of ignorance.

He asked: Where is the international community regarding these terrorist operations that are taking place before the eyes and ears of the international community, whose masks and false slogans have fallen in the test of humanity and justice? Has the international community become afraid to condemn this heinous crime, and does not dare to criticize these criminal Israeli measures against the Palestinians’ right to education?

Lawyer Malihat pointed out that "the settler gangs' rampant oppressive practices against the Palestinian people, the pillars of their life and their national and human existence, have reached an unprecedented level of fascism and racism, in the absence of effective and deterrent steps from the international community, and that the settler gangs' persistence in their attacks against Bedouin communities is a recipe for a religious war that will lead the region to the brink of the abyss and explosion."

Malihat stressed that the problem in these serious issues is not only the occupation and its crimes, but also the silence of the international community on these crimes, whose silence is considered complicity with the occupation authorities and their plans, or at least translates into a disastrous failure of the international community to carry out its moral and legal duties and responsibilities towards the Palestinian people, as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Conventions.

An accurate translation of an extremist ideological vision.

Dr. Omar Rahhal, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Shams Center for Human Rights and Democracy, stressed that the continued Israeli attacks on Palestinians, especially those carried out by settlers under the protection of the Israeli army and under direct instructions from ministers in the Israeli government, such as Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, represent an accurate translation of the extremist Zionist strategy.

These attacks, according to Dr. Rahhal, are merely a reflection of an extremist ideological vision based on biblical and Talmudic religious principles, in which the settlers see the West Bank, which they call “Judea and Samaria,” as part of their ancestral land, and the Palestinians as mere strangers.

Rahhal added that the settlers have now become armed militias, not just illegal residents of the Palestinian territories, as they receive full support from the Israeli government to carry out their daily attacks on the Palestinians.

These crimes, according to Rahhal, reflect organized state terrorism, and are aimed at displacing Palestinians and emptying the land for settlement expansion.

Urgent need for action by the International Criminal Court

On the international level, Dr. Rahhal explained that there is an urgent need for the International Criminal Court to take action to hold accountable settlers who commit war crimes under international law.

He also called on countries to respect the advisory decisions of the International Court of Justice regarding the long-term Israeli occupation, noting that the best solution is to deport the settlers based on international legitimacy decisions.

In a related context, Dr. Rahhal warned that the continuation of violence could lead to an explosion of the situation in the West Bank and even the outbreak of a religious war, pointing out that the repeated incursions into Al-Aqsa Mosque could ignite a religious conflict that would extend to threaten international peace and security.

Dr. Rahhal called on the international community not to be content with throwing dust in the eyes by punishing a limited number of settlers, but to address the issue from its roots by ending settlements completely and deporting settlers from the Palestinian territories, stressing that these steps alone can achieve justice for the Palestinians and prevent the escalation of tensions.

Attacks that crossed red lines

Secretary-General of the Islamic Christian Commission for the Support of Jerusalem and the Holy Sites, Hatem Abdel Qader, warned of the escalation of settler violence and terrorist attacks on citizens and their property in dozens of Palestinian villages and communities, especially in the Jordan Valley.

He said: What these areas and villages are witnessing in terms of settlers’ rampage and killing, burning crops and property, destroying homes and displacing their residents has crossed all red lines, and this cannot be tolerated.

He added: The situation has reached the point where settlers are targeting schools in the Jordan Valley, as settlers stormed a school in the Jericho area the day before yesterday and assaulted students and teaching staff and forced them to leave the school.

Abdul Qader stressed that the settlers are waging an open war with clear support from the Israeli entity, aiming to terrorize the defenceless citizens and force them to leave, similar to what the Zionist gangs committed before and during the year 1948.

He pointed out that the lack of any defensive mechanism to confront the settlers' war is what encourages them to continue and persist in practicing terrorism, which has become a threat to the security and existence of Palestinian society.

Abdul Qader said: The Authority issued a statement calling on the responsible Palestinian authorities and factions to assume their responsibilities and establish a defensive mechanism to protect citizens and their property and prevent the situation from worsening and spreading from villages to Palestinian cities, stressing that the weakness of the Palestinian situation does not justify silence and that we should stand slack in protecting our people from settler gangs.

The escalation of settler violence is striking.

For his part, UNICEF spokesman Kazem Abu Khalaf confirmed that "the escalation of settler violence according to reports is striking and worrying to many parties, especially with regard to Palestinian children."

He told "I": We have watched videos of what happened in the Arab Al-Kaabneh School, and they are an indication that things are heading towards an escalation more than before, stressing that the basic thing is for these children to be safe from violence, and for their focus to be on their studies, so that they can achieve success and establish a bright future that the region aspires to.

Abu Khalaf explained that "settler violence is unacceptable, especially against children, and is rejected by all standards and criteria."

Government-backed terrorism

Karim Jubran, director of field research at B'Tselem, confirmed to "Y" that "the photos published regarding the attack on the Arab al-Ka'abneh school clearly show the extent of the fascism and racism practiced by settler groups against Palestinians, with direct support from the Israeli government.

"It is unthinkable that these attacks take place without accountability. If there was real accountability, these attacks would not have been repeated," Gebran added.

He pointed out that the recent attack on the school was particularly violent, during which Palestinian children and activists were injured and brutally assaulted, and the school principal who tried to protect the children from these attacks was arrested.

Jubran explained that the Israeli government and its army bear full responsibility for these violations, stressing that the continued incitement by some ministers and the support and arming of settlers leads to an escalation of violence and an increased risk of further attacks against Palestinians, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law.

Expansion of pastoral settlement

In turn, Firas Al-Alami, director of field research at the Yesh Din human rights organization, said that the attack on the Arab al-Kaabneh school in the Jericho governorate represents a dangerous escalation in a series of ongoing attacks launched by settlers against Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley and other Palestinian areas.

Al-Ilmi added: These attacks come within the framework of a clear policy aimed at displacing Bedouin communities and controlling their lands, in an effort to expand the scope of pastoral settlement in those areas.

He stressed that this escalation is accompanied by full support from the Israeli government and complicity from Israeli law enforcement agencies that ignore the crimes of the settlers.

Al-Alami pointed out that this continuous support contributes to the escalation of violence and crime against Palestinians throughout the occupied territories, which poses a serious threat to the lives of Palestinians and their stability in their areas.

European follow-up of the attacks in Kaabneh

The European Union spokesman in Jerusalem confirmed that the Union is closely following what is happening in the Arab al-Ka'abneh area and the attacks carried out by settlers on Palestinian citizens in various areas of the West Bank.

The spokesman explained that the European position has expressed its clear position on more than one occasion, stressing the need for the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under international law and prevent the recurrence of such attacks.

He added: There are clear international references in international law that require the protection of civilians under occupation, which Israel must adhere to in order to prevent such incidents from recurring.

The European Union also called for those responsible for these attacks to be held accountable and brought to justice.