CAIRO,
May 10, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – A cohort of Israeli intellectuals,
academicians and artists have joined hands in demanding protection for
Palestinian school children against repeated assaults by Jewish
settlers, Israel's Haaretz daily reported on Wednesday, May 10.
"Beyond
the disgrace that requires military escort for small children and the
powerlessness in the face of the attackers, it seems the escort in its
current format is not enough to protect the children," they said
in a letter sent to Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert.
"The
subjection of elementary school children to attacks of lawbreakers in
the absence of proper defense is unbearable," read the letter.
Palestinian
children living in the village of Umm-Tuba near the occupied West Bank
town of Al-Khalil (Hebron) have long been subject to harassment by
Jewish settlers.
In
order to go to school in the neighboring village of Hirbat al-Tawani,
the children have to walk near the Maon settlement and the outpost of
Havat Maon.
Jewish
settlers living along the path have repeatedly ambushed the young
students.
On
Saturday, they pelted the kids and the Israeli police escort with
stones, injuring four children and two soldiers. One settler even set
his dog on the kids.
Despite
the violence and the resulting injuries, not one settler has been
arrested, according to the Israeli daily.
Justice
The
prominent Israeli artists and intellectuals asserted that the
Palestinians' right to education is "a basic human right,"
asserting that Israel is responsible for its full protection.
"We
demand the IDF be instructed to provide the children of the village
with full and proper protection which will guarantee these children
travel to and from school in peace," they said referring to the
Israeli army.
The
intellectuals also stressed that settler troublemakers should be held
accountable.
"We
call on law enforcement authorities to apply justice to the settlers
from Maon and the outpost of Havat Maon, and not stand in the way of
the activists aiding the children of the villages."
The
signatories included writers Haim Guri, David Grossman, Sami Michael,
Amos Oz, Saed Kashua and Meir Shalev.
Professors
Menachem Brinker, Yermiyahu Yovel and Avishai Margalit also put their
names on the letter.
Actresses
Gila Almagor and Hanna Meron and musician Ehud Banai also signed the
letter, copies of which were sent to the defense, public security and
education ministers as well as the chief of staff and police
commissioner.
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