Despite global outrage, Israel is still blockading our children’s education

May 6, 2026 - 01:25

Three weeks have passed since Israeli settlers erected a fence blocking the main route my students use to reach their school in the village of Umm Al-Khair. The barrier is not a response to violence or a security measure. It is a deliberate attempt to show that this community has no future here. The message is clear: if you cannot get your children to class, you will eventually leave.

We refuse to let that happen. Every morning, the children gather at the edge of the barrier. Some try to climb the rocky hillside to get around it. Others wait for a farmer with a donkey to guide them through a narrow goat path. It takes them an extra hour each way, and the youngest ones are exhausted before the first lesson begins. But they still show up.

The international community has expressed outrage. Human rights groups have issued statements. Foreign diplomats have visited and promised to raise the issue. Yet the fence remains. The settlers who built it are not removed. The road is not reopened. For the people of Umm Al-Khair, the words of condemnation mean little when the physical blockade stays in place.

This is not just about a road. It is about whether a Palestinian community has the right to exist. The settlers want us to believe that our children have no future here. But every child who walks that extra mile to reach the classroom proves them wrong. We will keep teaching. We will keep walking. We will not let them win.