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The NUT’s delegation to Palestine27 October-2 November 2013

www.teachers.org.uk

A matter of justice

The National Union of Teachers(NUT) has been campaigning forjustice for the Palestinianpeople since 1982 when theExecutive expressed “its horrorand outrage at the massacre ofchildren and their parents in thePalestinian refugee camps atSabra and Chatila in Beirut”.

In the 1990s the Union andlocal associations raised money to rebuild and re-equipthe kindergarten in the Balatarefugee camp where muchdamage had been done duringthe First Intafada. In 2006,following the shooting andkilling in Gaza of NUT memberJocelyn Hurndall’s son Tom by an Israeli sniper, the Unionestablished a fund to provideeducational opportunities fordisabled children in Gaza.

The Union has maintained itscommitment to the Palestinianpeople, the teachers and youngpeople, for 30 years. In June 2013the Executive agreed to send anational delegation of 12members to the occupiedterritories. This is the report ofthat delegation’s work duringOctober half-term 2013, meetingwith colleagues in the GeneralUnion of Palestinian Teachers

(GUPT); visiting schools; talking to young people and theirparents; and also engaging withnon-governmental organisations(NGOs) concerned with the rightsof the Palestinian people.

We went to show our solidaritywith the teachers and to conduct a study into the plightof children. The NUT isparticularly concerned about the ill-treatment of Palestinianchildren, some as young as 12,illegally detained by the Israeliarmed forces, brought beforemilitary courts and placed inIsraeli custody.

In a report published in February2013, UNICEF estimated that 700Palestinian children, aged 12-17,some even younger, are arrestedin the West Bank and jailed bythe Israeli military courts everyyear. They are usually accused ofthrowing stones at vehicles ofthe forces of the occupation - acrime punishable under militarylaw by up to 20 years in prison.

Arrests most frequently takeplace during violent night raidswhen the child is forciblyremoved from the family home,shackled, hooded and taken to adetention centre forquestioning.

They often appear in court in legshackles, bail is virtually nevergranted and they are detainedin solitary confinement forweeks. Often their families donot know where they are andthey are interrogated alone withthreats of death and physicalviolence.

An introduction by Beth Davies,delegation leader and NUTPresident 2013-14

Beth with students at AlGalil High School inNazareth, Israel

“I will foreverremember the dignity,warmth and resilienceof the Palestinianpeople and inparticular the amazingchildren we met.”Beth DaviesNUT President2013-14

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When they do appear in themilitary court, almost all of thesechildren have signed confessionswritten in Hebrew, a languagewhich they do not understand -as this is the only chance of earlyrelease. Conviction rates areastonishingly high (97 per cent)and a custodial sentence isimposed on 90 per cent of thecases.

These detentions of children inthe majority of cases arecontrary to international lawincluding the UN Convention onthe Rights of the Child. The NUThas pledged to fight for therights of these children.

In addition to sending adelegation the NUT has:

• written to and sought ameeting with Rt Hon HughRobertson MP, the Minister for

the Middle East, asking whatprogress has been made inIsrael in implementing the 40recommendations of theForeign and CommonwealthOffice funded June 2012 reporton Children in MilitaryCustody;

• highlighted the plight ofchildren in detention to over300,000 NUT members in ourmagazine ‘The Teacher’;

• given full support for theAction for Palestinian ChildrenCampaign and the Defence forChildren InternationalPalestine speaking tour; and

• participated in the 27 November 2013 lobby ofParliament on the plight of thePalestinians.

The delegation’s work hasn’tstopped at this visit. We aredeveloping clear points forfuture action.

I urge you to read our report ofeye witness accounts, becomeinvolved in the Union’scampaign and support us as wefight for the rights ofgenerations of Palestinians.

UN Convention on theRights of the ChildArticle 30In those States in whichethnic, religious orlinguistic minorities orpersons of indigenousorigin exist, a childbelonging to such aminority or who isindigenous shall not bedenied the right, incommunity with othermembers of his or hergroup, to enjoy his orher own culture, toprofess and practise hisor her own religion, orto use his or her ownlanguage.(Israel signed theConvention on 3rd July1990 and ratified it on3rd October 1991)

Above left: NUT greenT-shirts being presented toGUPT officers

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Jerusalem – meetingteachersOn our first day we metmembers of the Jerusalembranch of the General Union ofPalestinian Teachers (GUPT) andwere welcomed by theirSecretary, Issa Salman. Thebranch organises teachers in EastJerusalem, the designatedcapital of a future Palestinianstate, but currently occupied byand under the control of Israel.

More classrooms – moreteachersIssa explained there is a majorshortage of classrooms andteachers in the city. More than900 children are out of school.To reduce the average class sizesof 40 they need 1,000 moreclassrooms and more teachers.The Israeli authorities, whocontrol all development in thecity, stop Palestinians buildingnew schools. Many are ininappropriate rented buildings,sometimes without doors andwindows.

Palestinian children inIsrael and the curriculumPalestinian teachers inside EastJerusalem in Israeli Governmentmunicipal schools and theircolleagues inside Israel inPalestinian towns, like Nazareth,were greatly concerned aboutan imposed curriculum which didnot celebrate their Palestinianheritage.

Teachers and students we met inthe Galilee in northern Israel,which has a large Palestinianpopulation, echoed theseconcerns. At Al Galil High Schoolin Nazareth, the head teachertold us that the teaching of

Palestinian history and culturewas excluded from thecurriculum of schools attendedby Palestinians. History andgeography were presented froman Israeli perspective.

Censoring the poets –rewriting historyEnglish teacher Rida Salamehexplained that young people didnot learn about their ownculture – poets like MahmoudDarwish, novelists like GhassanKanafani or writers like EdwardSaid. The “Nakba” (Catastrophe),as Palestinians call the events of1948, which resulted in theexpulsion of more than 750,000Palestinians, was presented froman Israeli perspective.

One student, Reem, spoke aboutthe problems Palestinian youngpeople faced gaining entranceto university in Israel. AlthoughArabic is recognised as an officiallanguage in Israel, Hebrew hasalready replaced it in somecurricular areas and hurdles areplaced in the way of students.

Inequality in IsraelOne of the teachers said, “WePalestinians inside Israel are 20per cent of the population, yetthis isn’t reflected in budgetsand jobs or university places. Wedon’t have equal rights. We are20 per cent yet we only havetwo per cent of the land.” They,like the teachers we met in EastJerusalem, were of the viewthat, for Palestinians insideIsrael, “democracy is not appliedequally and fairly”.

At the beautiful Abhara PrimarySchool in Ein Mahel village (see right), the Principal,

Report of the NUT delegation“It was an honour to bea member of ourUnion's delegation toPalestine and it is clearthat we have aresponsibility forensuring that the voicesof the Palestinians wemet are heard. Inparticular the youngPalestinians in schoolswho continue to haveaspirations and dreamsdespite the obstaclesthat are forever placedin their path.”Philipa HarveyNUT SeniorVice-President 2014-15

“I was so impressed bythe enthusiasm of theyoung people andteachers we met. Thiswas despite all thedifficulties they faceday-to-day.”Marilyn BaterNUT Executive

Secretary Issa Salman(pictured, with Max Hyde,right).

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Raed Habib Allah, showed usaround. Whilst he was rightlyproud of the school and theenvironment created by theteachers and pupils, he alsostressed the teachers’ concernsabout the curriculum.

Despite these problems, wewere impressed by the positiverelationships between theteachers and their students andtheir real enthusiasm foreducation.

Israel’s education system –a cause for concernSimilar concerns about the Israelicurriculum were expressed to usby Professor Nurit Peled Elhananand Dr Samira Alayan, botheducation lecturers at theHebrew University in Jerusalem.

They said that many textbooks inthe Israeli school system eitheromitted mention of Palestiniansor treated them in stereotypicalways, fostering racism towardsthem whilst promoting anarrative more fitted topreparing students for militaryservice.

Nurit and Samira said that theyhad found no evidence of anti-Jewish sentiments in Palestiniantextbooks. Both were of theview that the Israeli educationsystem is racist.

Ramallah, the “SpanishSchool”When we visited schools wewere greeted by teachers andpupils with warmth andhospitality and an eagerness totalk about their schools andtheir achievements.

In Ramallah we visited the“Spanish School”(see above) –built with the help of theSpanish Government. It is one ofthe city’s 240 primary andsecondary schools, the majorityof which (182) are public schools.With 620 pupils and 27 teachers,the “Spanish School” has anaverage class size of just over 34.

Pupils in this all-girls schoolshowed us round. Theydescribed their school with prideand were keen to tell us aboutthe conflict managementprogramme used to resolvedifferences between studentsand between teachers andstudents.

Below: Abhara PrimarySchool, Ein Mahel nearNazareth, Israel

“I experienced first-hand the discriminatoryand crude nature of theIsraeli occupation. ForPalestinians this is adaily reality and farworse than anything Ihad encountered”Bodrul AminLuton NUT

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All the children we met werekeen to try out their English, andthe visit concluded with a displayof traditional dabke dancing. Thestaff were conscious that theirschool was better off than manyothers in the city. Theneighbouring boys’ school wewent to was less well equippedand had larger classes but we metthe same enthusiasm for learning(see below).

Nablus – Askar Girls’School

In Nablus, Serin Refa’t Dweikat,the head teacher of Askar Girls’School, welcomed us.

The school is one of 98 schoolsestablished in the West Bankunder the United Nations Relief and Works Agency(UNRWA) for the children of the771,000 refugees whose familiesfled to the West Bank in 1948and 1967.

The school is in Askar RefugeeCamp (see below) which has apopulation of nearly 16,000 andwas established in 1950 byrefugees forced from theirhomes near the Haifa and Jaffaareas in 1948. The camp iscramped, has no green spacesand is constantly patrolled bythe Israeli army.

One of three schools in thecamp, the school ran on twoshifts. The head teacher told usthe school had been praised forthe achievements of its pupilsamongst which was theirinvention of a gadget to be used in the home to sound analarm if a baby stoppedbreathing. She and the girls wemet were rightly proud of theirschool.

“Nothing prepared mefor this delegation tripto Palestine. I got asmall insight into whatit is like for thePalestinians to besocially, emotionally,economically andphysically restrainedday in, day out. Anunforgettable tripwhich left me wantingto fight even more forjustice.”Caroline EzzatEast London NUT

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Above: Philipa Harveypresenting greetings fromchildren in South London tothe head teacher of AskarGirls’ School, Nablus,Palestine

Below left: Dabke dancingat the “Spanish School”,Ramallah, Palestine

Occupation! Occupation!Occupation!

Everywhere we drove, twofeatures of the occupationdominated the skyline – theseparation wall and thesettlements.

The wall

In Jerusalem, Ray Dolphin, of theUnited Nations Office for theCoordination of HumanitarianAffairs (UN OCHA) talked to usabout the separation wall and itsimpact on people’s lives. The wallis 600 kilometres long, made ofeight-metre high concrete blocksin urban areas, whilst in ruralareas it is a high fence with razorwire, electronic surveillance anda 30 – 100 metre-wide military-only road alongside.

Ray told us that the constructionof the wall started in June 2002and that on 9 June 2004 theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) had ruled that it was illegalunder international law and inbreach of the GenevaConvention. On 20 July 2004, theUnited Nations GeneralAssembly demanded that theGovernment comply with its

legal obligations and dismantlethe wall but successive IsraeliGovernments have ignored boththe UN and the ICJ.

In Ramallah, Mr Ayub Ayallan,the Director of Education, toldus that some schools on one sideof the wall have been separatedfrom their catchment areas onthe other. Students and teachers,who must go throughcheckpoints to pass from oneside to the other, face hoursadded to their journeys.Sometimes checkpoints areclosed and everyone is delayedor even prevented from goingabout their daily lives.

The “seam zone”The Green Line is the namegiven to the 1967 cease-fire linedemarcating the West Bank fromIsrael. It is generally consideredto define the West Bank whichwill form the main part of afuture Palestinian state but thewall does not follow the samepath. The wall snakes round theillegal settlements and, taking afurther 9.4 per cent of the WestBank, is more than twice thelength of the Green Line.

The area where the path of the wall and the Green Linediverge is called the “seamzone”. Around 25,000Palestinians living in this areaare trapped between the two.Additionally many farmers wholive “behind” the wall are cut offfrom their crops, olive orchardsor grazing lands which also lie inthe West Bank but in the “seamzone” on the other side of thewall. They have to travel longdistances and have a militarypermit to pass through one ofthe 66 gates which are openedfor limited periods each day.

All of the 2.7 million Palestinianswho live in the West Bank need

The UN OCHA Barrier Update The International Courtof Justice demands thatIsrael must: ceaseconstruction of thebarrier, including in andaround East Jerusalem; dismantle the sectionsof the barrier alreadycompleted; and repealthe gate and permitregime. (July 2011, page 23)

"For historical reasonsBritain bears asignificantresponsibility for thepartition of Palestine.The delegation’s visitmade me more awareof this role and moredetermined toencourage British tradeunionists to expresstheir solidarity with thePalestinian cause."Dave HarveyChair, NUTInternational Sub-Committee

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permits to journey anywhere inthe area through the many armycheckpoints, causing long delays.Ambulances have been keptwaiting with fatal consequencesfor those they were carrying.Students taking exams havebeen delayed, causing them tomiss their papers.

In addition to those in the “seamzone” a further 200,000Palestinians are beingsurrounded by settlementbuilding encircling EastJerusalem and incorporatingthem into an Israeli GreaterJerusalem.

East Jerusalem, a vital part ofthe Palestinian economy, is beingforcibly separated from its WestBank hinterland and may well beprevented from being part ofany Palestinian state. The routeof the wall is creating “facts onthe ground” which will adverselyaffect any negotiations on thefinal status of the West Bank orJerusalem.

The Jordan Valley –agribusiness expansionUndoubtedly the largestappropriation of land by theIsraeli occupation in the WestBank is in the Jordan Valley. TheValley constitutes about 30 percent of the West Bank.

Driving through the valley, from Jericho to Nazareth, we saw the extent of theexpropriation and the hugeirrigation systems used by Israeliagribusiness but denied to thePalestinian farmers. Many of theherbs, fruit and other goods,labelled “produce of Israel” inBritish supermarkets come fromthis region.

This West Bank area contributessignificantly to the Israelieconomy and the profits of thecompanies illegally operating init. Water is a major issue in thearea – Israel controls the watersupply, taking 86 per cent of theavailable shared resources.

“I believe in and strivetowards a time whenthe Israeli governmentand its allies will beshamed for theirdouble standards,hypocrisy, lies andcruelty and thedignified people ofPalestine will havetheir freedom, justiceand human rights.”Seema McArdleBrighton and HoveNUT

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Large volumes of water areplundered from the aquifersbeneath the West Bank whilstPalestinians living there arerefused permission to drill newwells or to improve old ones.Israeli companies are profitingwhilst Palestinian farmers areimpoverished.

Jerusalem – housedemolitionsOn a tour of East Jerusalem, wewere told by our guide, AshrafKatib of the Negotiations SupportUnit, that the city’s future as thecapital of a Palestinian state is akey issue in any negotiations.From the hill of the Mount ofOlives we could see how the citywas being surrounded by theillegal settlements which evenpenetrated into the refugeecamps. Alongside this land theftwent house demolitions andseizures. We were taken to seeone Palestinian family whereIsraeli settlers had occupied partof their house. We learned thatthis is becoming quite common,including in the old city ofJerusalem.

Palestinian children andhouse demolitionsWe were shocked to learn thatthe building of settlements –especially in East Jerusalem –goes along with the demolitionof Palestinian homes andbusinesses.

In a March 2012 submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Israeli Committee AgainstHouse Demolitions (ICAHD), it was reported that 880 people,including 468 children, had been displaced due to thedemolition of over 600 structures.By the end of November, similarfigures looked set to be recordedfor 2013.

Permission for Palestinians tobuild is all but denied, whilstIsraeli Government-licensedillegal settlements expand.

Inside Israel –monopolising the landAccording to Israel’s CentralBureau of Statistics there aremore than 1,658,000 “Arabcitizens of Israel” as they insiston calling the Palestinians insideIsrael.

What surprised us on our visit tothe Galilee, and then later in theNaqab (Negev) desert, was thata very similar process involvingthe theft of Palestinian-ownedlands was taking place insideIsrael itself. We visited thePalestinian village of Ein Maheland were shown plans outlininga development that wouldcompletely encircle the villagetaking their lands. We sawdocuments which proved theland had been first registered tothe Palestinian owner in 1943.Nevertheless the land was stillbeing confiscated. OutsideNazareth, a similar developmentwas taking place at Nazareth Illit– a new suburb almostexclusively set aside for IsraeliJewish citizens.

Israeli CommitteeAgainst HouseDemolitions (ICAHD)Israel has failed tocomply with the FourthGeneva Convention andInternationalConvention on theElimination of RacialDiscrimination. Since1967, Israeli authoritieshave demolished morethan 28,000 homes,businesses, livestockfacilities and otherstructures vital toPalestinian livelihood.The motivation fordemolishing thesehomes is purelypolitical and raciallyinformed.(ICAHD Report to theUN Human RightsCouncil)

Bedouins’ homes reducedto rubble, Al Arakib

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Forced transfers ofBedouins inside Israel

We found a similar story ofdispossession when we metresidents of the Bedouin villageof Al Arakib, in the Naqab(Negev) Desert in Israel. Under aproposal called the “PrawerPlan” the Israeli Governmentintends to forcibly move up to70,000 Bedouin out of 35“unrecognised” villages andtowns. Because the Israeli statedeems them “unrecognised”they are denied all basic servicessuch as electricity, water supplyor refuse services.

Despite its “unrecognised”status, the village of Al Arakib,with its cemetery dating backbefore 1913, was there longbefore the state of Israel. Thearmy has attacked the villagemany times, uprooting over4,000 olive trees; killing 160animals including 16 horses;cutting the water and electricitysupply; and bulldozing homes.After all this, the village wasgiven a two million shekel bill(about £350,000) for “cleaningup”.

We were told that the villagehas been destroyed 61 timessince July 2010 and rebuilt 62times. Villagers are campaigningagainst the plans.

CheckpointsIt is impossible to travelanywhere in the West Bankwithout being stopped at acheckpoint. The largest of theseis at Qalandiya betweenRamallah and Jerusalem. It ishuge - like an internationalborder crossing point with heavysecurity, vehicle-holding bays,armed guards and documentchecks. Pedestrians and allpassengers are filtered throughmetal turnstiles and scannersone by one. Everyone is forcedto queue, sometimes for hours.In some areas, workers have toqueue half the night to get towork on time.

The checkpoints at Bait She’an,in the Jordan Valley, and theentrance to Bethlehem aresimilar though on a smallerscale.

Elsewhere we saw other types ofcheckpoint - iron gates, concreteblocks or earth mounds piledacross roads to stop the traffic.When leaving Hebron, towardsthe end of our stay, we werestopped by the Israeli army at a“flying” checkpoint. An armedvehicle, backed by a heavymachine gun, pulled across theroad. Soldiers stopped us andboarded our minibus. Onceagain, as at Tel Aviv airport and

“I couldn't believe howmuch the situation haddeteriorated since tenyears ago, with theexpansion of thesettlements and theextension of the hatedapartheid wall. Onecannot help but beinspired and humbledby the resolve andfortitude of thePalestinian people. Bythe end I didn't want toleave but returneddetermined to continueto support their fightfor justice.”Roger KingVice-Chair, NUTInternational Sub-Committee

Above: Remains of AlArakib village, Naqab(Negev) Desert

Below left: Historic villagewell - part of theinfrastructure of theestablished community

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at Bait She’an in the JordanValley where we were stoppedfor three quarters of an hour, itwas only the black members ofthe group who were underscrutiny.

According to the UN OCHA thereare over 532 checkpointsdistributed across the West Bank.

Segregated roads

We saw a number of side roadsthat were blocked off. One ofthe blocked roads had a signsaying “Welcome to JabaVillage” – but you couldn’t enter.We were told that thesebarricaded roads led toPalestinian towns and villages.The Israeli army had closedthem, forcing inhabitants andanyone visiting to add miles toeven the shortest of journeys.

Settler-only roads in the WestBank, by contrast, are newer,better constructed, wellmaintained, and checkpointfree. Near Nablus, on a roadused by both Israelis andPalestinians, we saw a mobilearmy checkpoint on the oppositeside, where cars with Israelinumber plates (yellow withblack numbers) were wavedthrough whilst Palestinianvehicles (white with greennumbers) were obliged to wait.As a result a long tailback builtup. It was impossible to look atthis segregated road systemwithout thinking of apartheidSouth Africa.

SettlementsThe settler-only road system isexclusively for the settlements.Every day we saw the hugesettlement expansion that istaking place. Driving fromJerusalem to Bethlehem we sawhow these are in fact largetowns. Ma’ale Adumin has apopulation of around 40,000;Modi’in Illit - 56,000; Beitar Illit -43,000. Under international lawthey are illegal and contravenethe Geneva Convention.However, they are nowexpanding.

According to the UN there aremore than 550,000 illegalsettlers living in the West Bankin developments, frequentlybuilt on the hills overlookingPalestinian towns and villages(see above). New settlements arebeing built surrounding EastJerusalem, cutting it off fromthe rest of the West Bank andpre-empting final statusnegotiations, robbing thePalestinian economy of valuabletourist trade and violatinginternational law.

The settlement buildings cover1.2 per cent of the land in theWest Bank – but their controlextends to 42.7 per cent of it(UN OCHA).

Conclusions of theReport of the UNindependentinternational missionon settlements:The establishment ofthe settlements in theWest Bank, includingEast Jerusalem, is amesh of constructionand infrastructureleading to a creepingannexation thatprevents theestablishment of acontiguous and viablePalestinian State andundermines the right ofthe Palestinian peopleto self-determination.(7 February 2013)

“The Palestinian peoplewelcomed us into theirhomes and theirschools. They wantfreedom, they wantjustice and a future fortheir children. Theirstruggles are supportedand their stories will betold.”Max HydeNUT President 2014-15

Below left: Max Hyde atcheckpoint in Hebron,Palestine

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Settler violenceA disturbing feature of theexpansion is that it is frequentlyaccompanied by unprovokedsettler attacks againstPalestinians – men, women andchildren. Olive orchards aresingled out for attack therebydestroying people’s livelihoods.

In Hebron, the largestPalestinian city in the West Bank,Rashad Junaidy of the GUPTbranch showed us how parts ofthe market had to be protectedby strong wire meshsupplemented with plasticsheeting (pictured above). Heexplained that it was to preventthe rocks, bricks, rubbish andliquids, including urine, thrownby the settlers who lived abovelanding on the traders andshoppers below.

Whilst in Hebron we met agroup of Ecumenical

Accompaniers who had comefrom Australia, Finland andNorway – these are people of alldenominations and none whowere accompanying Palestinianchildren to and from school toprotect them against settlerassaults. Even with theirpresence, the settlers hadattacked the children verballyand physically and thrown rocksat them.

An Nabi Salih – a villageunder siegeWe visited a small village northof Ramallah called An Nabi Salih.Sitting in the lounge of a localfamily we watched a video andManal Tamimi told us howsettlers had lain claim to a welltraditionally used by the villageand had attacked anyone tryingto use it. In response she andother villagers organised weeklypeaceful non-violentdemonstrations to assert theirrights to the well. Howeverthese demonstrators wereregularly attacked by the Israeliarmy with tear gas, rubberbullets and sometimes liveammunition. The village wasfrequently raided and youngchildren arrested in the middleof the night. The army had alsofired “skunk” water into watertanks on the tops of houses to

“Witnessing the factsand impact of theIsraeli occupation firsthand was almostoverwhelming at times,but the Palestinians wemet taught usimportant lessons thathave stayed with mesince my return. Theirresilience anddetermination to fightfor their rights, despitethe odds stackedagainst them, is aninspiration to anyoneengaged in the fightfor equality andjustice.”Kiri TunksEast London NUT

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pollute them.The army howeverdid not stop there. Frequentlythey returned at night to arrestlocal children who hadparticipated in thedemonstrations.

Palestinian child prisoners

One of the most distressingaspects of our visit was to hearabout the plight of Palestinianchildren once they had beenarrested. We heard evidence firsthand from the Tamimi familyabout the night raids. Theiraccount was backed up by IvanKarakashian of Defence forChildren International –Palestine, who told us that, sincethe year 2000, some 75,000children had been arrested.

There are two different legalsystems in the occupiedterritories – military law forPalestinians and civil law for theIsraeli settlers. Under militarylaw, throwing a stone at a wallcan result in a ten-year prisonsentence and throwing a stoneat a jeep can result in 20 years.Parents are rarely present duringquestioning and permits to visittake a long time. Children areoften transferred to prisonsinside Israel in breach of Article76 of the Fourth GenevaConvention. There has been anincrease in the use of solitaryconfinement since 2012.

This picture was echoed byGerard Horton of Military CourtWatch who made the point thatit was irrelevant if the childrenhad in fact thrown stones – theystill deserve to be treated as anyother child should be. Thereclearly is one law for thePalestinian children and anotherfor the settler children and thechildren in Israel.

Employment and povertyIt was clear to us from theteachers and parents we methow much Palestinians valueeducation and were concernedfor their children’s futures. Theliteracy rate amongstPalestinians stands at over 95 percent and, although we were notable to visit Gaza, a UN officialtold us that 54 per cent of thepopulation is under 18 and there is 50 per cent youthunemployment. Apart from theoppressive nature of theoccupation itself, another issuebecame evident. How can thePalestinians develop an economyin the face of so manyrestrictions?

As Dr Samia Botmeh of Bir ZeitUniversity told us, thePalestinian economy is veryfragile. Some 70 per cent isservice based and increasinglydependent on externalcontributions. In addition to thelosses to agriculture in theJordan Valley and the impact ontourism because of the wall andcheckpoints, Israeli companiesare directly involved in otherbreaches of international law.According to the World Bankreport of 2 October 2013, Israelifirms working illegally in theWest Bank produce and sellpotash, bromine and magnesiumworth $918 million a year – theequivalent of 9 per cent of thePalestinian GDP.

UN Convention on theRights of the ChildArticle 16 1. No child shall besubjected to arbitraryor unlawfulinterference with his orher privacy, family,home orcorrespondence, nor tounlawful attacks on hisor her honour andreputation. 2. The child has theright to the protectionof the law against suchinterference or attacks.

“I have travelled to theWest Bank severaltimes over the last fewyears. Each time I findthe situation hasdeteriorated evenfurther. Alas, it was nodifferent this time.”Samidha GargNUT InternationalRelations Officer

Below left: Manal Tamimiwith Beth Davies

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Campaigning for justice –in Palestine and in Britain

Over the week, the picture wesaw was a bleak one. Theconstant physical presence ofsoldiers and all the apparatus ofoccupation was oppressive. AsGerard Horton said to us aboutthe arrest of children by thearmy – the real problem is thatthe occupation “gets insidepeople’s heads”.

Despite the traumatisation ofPalestinian children, the dailyproblems of just getting toschool, and the anxiety ofparents we met, there is ongoingresistance to the occupationwhich involves the majority ofthe Palestinian people.

We also met courageous Israelicitizens opposed to the actionsof the Israeli Government – butthey were the first to point outthat, sadly, their voices are, atthis time, in a tiny minority.Typical of their views was theopinion expressed by SergioYahni of the AlternativeInformation Center who saidthat there was a complete

imbalance of power between astrong right-wing Governmentin Israel and a weak PalestinianAuthority. They were candid andsaid that they were not hopefulfor the immediate future.

Both Samia Botmeh and SergioYahni expressed their support forthe campaign by the TradesUnion Congress (TUC) which issupported by unions in Britain “toboycott the goods of companieswho profit from the illegalsettlements, the occupation andthe construction of the wall”.

The children, young people,teachers and parents that wemet asked us to tell their story.Answering, for the wholedelegation, the question “Whydid you choose to help us?”delegation leader Beth Daviessaid, “For justice - and yourcountry is number one on ourlist”.

We hope this report explains theimportance of that answer andlays the basis for developing thecampaign amongst all thoseconcerned for the welfare of thechildren and people of Palestine.

“As one of those whoraised Palestine on theExecutive in 1982 itwas an honour to beasked to facilitate theOctober 2013delegation. I hope theUnion will continue tocampaign for justice forthe Palestinian people.Only by ending theoccupation,dismantling the walland ending settlementbuilding, will that bepossible. That is theroute to lasting peacefor the Palestinianpeople and the peopleof Israel.”Bernard ReganFormer NUT Executive Memberand PalestineSolidarity Campaign

Israeli Army tear gas canisters hanging in a garden in An Nabi Salih, Palestine

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Before 1947 1947 UN Plan 1967 Today

CONTACTSAdalah http://adalah.org/eng/

Al Haq http://www.alhaq.org

Alternative Information Center http://www.alternativenews.org/english/

Breaking the Silence http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il

B’Tselem http://www.btselem.org

Jews for Justice for Palestinians http://jfjfp.com

Kav LaOved http://www.kavlaoved.org.il/en/

Negotiations Affairs Department PLO http://www.nad-plo.org

National Union of Teachers http://www.teachers.org.uk

Palestine Solidarity Campaign http://www.palestinecampaign.org

Palestinian Grass Root Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign http://www.stopthewall.org

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs http://www.ochaopt.org

A matter of justiceThe NUT’s delegation to Palestine

27 October-2 November 2013

MEMBERS OF DELEGATION Beth Davies NUT President 2013-14Max Hyde NUT President 2014-15Philipa Harvey NUT Senior Vice-President 2014-15Dave Harvey Chair, NUT International Sub-CommitteeRoger King Vice-Chair, NUT International Sub-CommitteeMarilyn Bater NUT ExecutiveSeema McArdle Brighton and Hove NUTCaroline Ezzat East London NUTKiri Tunks East London NUTBodrul Amin Luton NUTBernard Regan Palestine Solidarity CampaignSamidha Garg NUT International Relations Officer

All photographs provided by members of the delegation

The NUT gratefully acknowledges the help and support provided by the Palestine SolidarityCampaign in making arrangements for the highly successful NUT delegation to Palestine.

Designed and published by The Strategy and Communications Department of The National Union of Teachers – www.teachers.org.ukOrigination by Paragraphics – www.paragraphics.co.uk Printed by Ruskin Press – www.ruskinpress.co.uk – 9400/04/14