Since Sunday, 12 February 2023, Israeli settlers have been playing loud music behind the fence 7 separates the settlement of Sha’arei Tikva from the Palestinian village of ‘Azzun ‘Atmah, entirely disrupting classes. The principal has contacted the DCO, to no avail.
B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi spoke with a student and the principal:
Nur ‘Omar, 18, high school student:
I live in Beit Amin and go to high school in ‘Azzun ‘Atmah. I’m in the twelfth grade, and this year I have my Taujihi (matriculation) exams, so this is a critical year for me. I really want to go to university. This week, we constantly heard loud music coming from the Sha’arei Tikva settlement that’s behind the separation fence, which kept us from concentrating on class. I’m really worried that if this goes on, I won’t be ready for the exams at the end of the year.
‘Alaa Mara’bah, 46, school principal:
The school I run has 282 students from villages in the area. The school is located at the entrance to the village, next to the separation fence that surrounds the settlement of Sha’arei Tikva. On Sunday, 12 February 2023, at around 7:30 A.M., we heard loud Hebrew music coming from the direction of the fence. At first, we thought it was temporary, but the music continued like that for the entire school week. We closed all the windows, but it didn’t help. I contacted the Ministry of Education in Qalqiliyah, the Palestinian DCO and the Village Council, but nothing helped. On Friday and Saturday, I came to the school especially to check, and there was no music.