Israeli forces fire teargas at schoolchildren holding West Bank sit-in | West Bank

Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinian schoolchildren who staged a sit-in protest in the occupied West Bank after settlers blocked access to their schools.

The Israeli military said it dispersed an “unusual meeting” but did not say whether its soldiers had fired tear gas at children on the first day of class since the start of the Iran war.

The incident took place in Umm al-Khair, a small village in the Masafer Yatta district in the southern West Bank.

Schoolchildren there were due to return to classes on Monday for the first time in more than 40 days, after classes were suspended due to the Israeli-US attack on Iran on February 28.

A group of schoolchildren and Palestinians had gathered near the barbed wire fence erected by Israeli settlers that blocked access to the school.

Eyewitnesses said schoolchildren and some local adults staged an outdoor sit-in demanding access when soldiers fired tear gas.

“We were sitting and they threw a grenade (tear gas canister) at us. I got scared, started screaming and ran away,” said 12-year-old Sarah al-Hathaleen.

“I started crying. A woman hugged me and stayed with me. We were very scared.”

Bassam Jabr, education director of Masafer Yatta district, confirmed that children were staging a sit-in protest during the incident.

Jabr said of settlers from the nearby settlement of Carmel, whose residents erected fences: “The settlers are trying to tighten the noose on us in every possible way. One of these methods is to cut the road for school students and expand the settlement area.”

“Unfortunately, there is no solution. We will continue this sit-in protest today and tomorrow until a solution is found for students to return to school,” he said.

The Israeli army announced that troops were dispatched to the region.

“IDF soldiers were sent to the Umm al-Khair area due to reports of an unusual gathering of Palestinians in the area,” the army said.

It was stated that the meeting was dispersed and there were no injuries.

Agence France-Presse footage shows tear gas canisters being fired, children screaming and running away.

11-year-old Rashid al-Hathaleen said, “Last night we were excited to go to school today. The Israelis came and blocked the road with barbed wire… we want to go back to school.”

The Masafer Yatta area is a known hotspot for settler violence and Palestinian home demolitions.

Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen was killed by a settler in the village of Umm al-Khair in August 2025.

Settler violence has also increased in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Iran war.

Excluding East Jerusalem, approximately 3 million Palestinians as well as more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements that are illegal under international law.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.