Bethlehem / PNN/

Palestinian elementary students started the first day of school on Monday in open air in an occupied West Bank village since the building was demolished by Israel in May.

The school was located in the village of Jibb al-Deeb on the outskirts of Bethlehem.

Headmistress Shireen Abu Taha said the formidable circumstances made it equally difficult for the students and teachers to keep up the education process. Abu Taha said there has been no reconstruction.

It is one of 17 schools many of which have been demolished or are under threat of demolition. All the schools were built by the Palestinian Authority (PA) – many with funding from the European Union (EU).

When the regime demolished the school in Jibb al-Deeb in May, the EU was “appalled.”

In January, a group of United Nations experts called for action to stop Israel’s “systematic and deliberate” demolition of Palestinian structures.

The education centers are also targeted in attacks by Israeli settlers.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry recently said the attacks were being carried out under the direct protection and support of regime forces.

The ministry said the violent trend is part of Israel’s design to Judaize and annex the West Bank and against the Palestinian national and humanitarian existence in areas where settlements are built.

The regime also regularly razes Palestinian homes built in eastern al-Quds and the West Bank, citing a lack of relevant construction permits. According to a UN study, those permits are “virtually impossible” to obtain for Palestinians.