Children need army protection on school run

Going to school and home safely is something children all over the world take for granted. But, for Palestinian children living in the shadow of the conflict on the West Bank, simply walking to school can be terrifying.

In spite of army escorts on their way to and from school, Palestinians say their children are still in danger after attacks by settlers near the settlement of Ma'on and outpost of Havat Ma'on. Military protection was ordered for Palestinian children by the Israeli Knesset, but the soldiers do not always turn up and then sometimes only escort the children some of the way, which parents fear leaves them exposed to the risk of further attacks."It is really scary walking to school," said Rima Ali, 10, from the village of Tuba in the southern West Bank, about two hours drive south of Jerusalem. “We never know when the settlers will attack us and beat us,” she told Inter Presse Service news agency. "Every day we have to watch out that the settlers are not in the valley ahead of us and if we see them we run away," Ali said. Ali still has the scar from when a settler pushed her causing her to fall to the ground and she cut herself below the eye.

Hundreds of Palestinian children in Palestinian villages face the same daily predicament as they try to reach school in the Bedouin village of At Tuwani.Settlers have closed the main route through the area with a fence and Palestinians are forced to use far longer alternative routes but they are still at risk of harassment.Last week, two women volunteers, an Italian and an American, were attacked and robbed by settlers as they escorted a Palestinian couple with three small children near Havat Ma'on.

Laura Ciaghi said they were set upon by five settlers who assaulted the father of the family while his children screamed in fear. Ms Ciaghi and her colleague were pushed to the ground and their camcorders were taken by their attackers."This incident is the consequence of years and years of attacks on Palestinians and internationals that authorities did nothing about," she told Sky News. "The settlers are aware that there is total impunity. "It is not a question of there just being a few bad apples. They are well covered and supported." The Israeli police are investigating this latest incident.The military says its school-run escort occasionally does not turn up for operational reasons.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children