Palestinian Children Denied Education in Israeli Prisons
Israeli prisons are not providing adequately for the educational needs of detained Palestinian children, reports Jillian Kestler-D'Amours.
BEIT UMMAR, WEST BANK — Seventy-three. In that many days, Sadek Abu Maria’s life has drastically changed.
“It’s easier than before, but it’s still difficult because I have exams, and the majority of the material I wasn’t there for,” the 15-year-old told Al-Monitor from his family’s living room in the West Bank village of Beit Ummar.
Abu Maria is in 10th grade at a local school in Beit Ummar. He was arrested in early January on the charge of throwing stones and detained at Israel’s Ofer military prison, on the outskirts of Ramallah, for almost two and a half months.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education makes children repeat their academic year after they’ve missed a certain number of school days; Abu Maria says he’s missed more than is allowed and is now waiting to hear if he can take the exams in three weeks with his classmates.
