A number of Palestinian students and teachers suffered from their exposure to tear gas on Tuesday when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attacked them as they left their elementary school in Huwara town, south of Nablus.
Raja Awad, principal of the Omar Bin al-Khattab Boy School, affirmed that Israeli forces showered child students and teachers with tear gas canisters and stun grenades after they left the school.
Several students and teachers reportedly suffered from breathing problems and other effects of tear gas.
Awad pointed out that the IOF had been trying for nearly a month to obstruct the education process at his school by raiding it, terrorizing the students, and chasing them, claiming that students from the school threw stones at soldiers.
He added that teachers, in cooperation with local residents, are forced to spread out daily along the road leading to the school to ensure the safety of students.
He affirmed that his school students, who number 500 children from the first grade to the seventh grade, suffer from anxiety and fear as they go to school as a result of their previous exposure to attacks and aggressive practices at the hands of Israeli soldiers.
This incident stresses the urgent need to protect Palestinian students and teachers and their right to a safe and secure education.
