Ministry: Israel Killed Over 800 Palestinian Teachers Killed Since 2023
The ministry issued the figures in a statement ahead of World Teachers' Day, marked each year on Oct. 5. It said educators across the occupied Palestinian territories are engaged in “a real battle for survival” to defend the right to education in the face of what it described as systematic targeting.
The ministry said education in Gaza and the West Bank has endured “comprehensive genocide” since the start of what it called Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
It said more than 170 teachers remain detained “in harsh conditions.” Movement restrictions and harassment at hundreds of checkpoints have added to teachers' daily hardship, it said, citing Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron; the village of al-Mughayyir in the central West Bank; the Jordan Valley; and areas classified as Area C.
The 1995 Oslo II agreement, meant as an interim arrangement, divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C. Area A is under Palestinian civil and security control. Area B is under Palestinian civil administration and Israeli security control. Area C, roughly 60% of the West Bank, remains under full Israeli control.
The ministry said the abuses have coincided with severe financial strain that is eroding teachers' material and psychological stability, as Israel withholds Palestinian tax revenues.
These funds, known as clearance revenues, are taxes Israel collects on imported goods on behalf of the Palestinian Authority and transfers under the 1994 Paris Protocol. Israel began deducting sums from them in 2019 and later halted transfers, deepening the Palestinian Authority's financial crisis and limiting its ability to pay public employees in full.
Clearance revenues make up about 56% of total Palestinian public revenues, so withholding them is a major obstacle to paying salaries, delivering public services and meeting government obligations.
The ministry called on the international community, the UN, and education and human rights organizations to act urgently to curb violations and to provide international protection for students and education staff. It also urged unions worldwide to press for the release of detained teachers and for the withheld financial entitlements, so that educators can live with dignity.
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