CRC/C/ISR/CO/2-4
60.
In light of the numerous recommendations addressed to the State party by the
United Nations Secretary General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and
various treaty bodies in relation to the right of Palestinian and Bedouin families to an
adequate standard of living, the Committee urges the State party to unconditionally
commit itself to refrain from any actions that would further deprive Palestinian and
Bedouin families of their land and of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and
food as well as to allow humanitarian agencies unimpeded access to families and
children in need without fear of persecution or other recrimination. The Committee
also urges the State party to:
(a)
Adopt a moratorium on demolition and evictions until the planning and
zoning regime is brought into compliance with applicable international legal
standards for areas in the West Bank under its full control, including East Jerusalem,
and ensure that Palestinians in the West Bank have access to a fair, effective and
participatory planning system;
(b)
children;
Restore confiscated land to Bedouin and Palestinian families and their
(c)
Take immediate measures to ensure the availability of sufficient and safe
drinking water and adequate sanitation for Palestinians living in the OPT as already
recommended by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(E/C.12/ISR/CO/ 3, para. 29, 2011);
(d)
Review the restrictions placed on Palestinian access to land, sea and
livelihood. The State party should also put an end to the impunity enjoyed by settlers
who destroy Palestinian livelihood and take active measures to prevent further
violence and destruction.
H.
Education, leisure and cultural activities (arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the
Convention)
Education, including vocational training and guidance
61.
The Committee welcomes the 2007 amendment of the Compulsory Education Law
which broadens its scope and extends free compulsory education to children between the
ages of fifteen and seventeen. The Committee also notes as positive the five-year plan
(2011-2016) to reduce the gaps in the education of Bedouin children as well as the
agreement reached in the municipality of Eilat whereby children of migrant asylum seekers
will eventually be integrated into the regular public schools and not in a separate education
frameworks as was previously the case. The Committee is however concerned that:
(a)
Collection of tuition fees from parents is widespread, jeopardizing the right to
free education enshrined in the Compulsory Education Law;
(b)
There is serious discrimination against Bedouin children who are often left
without any school available for them or without safe roads and transportation means to
schools, as well as against children belonging to the Ethiopian community who are
disproportionately placed in special education without proper screening and the
identification of their special needs;
(c)
Jewish and Arab children continue to be educated in segregated school
systems as observed by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(CERD/C/ISR/CO/14-16, para. 11) with lower investment in the education system for Arab
children which results in a severe shortage of classrooms, in substandard conditions and
quality of teaching, low academic results and high school dropout.
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