TUBAS: Israeli occupation forces Tuesday closed the Tayasir checkpoint east of Tubas, and prevented Palestinian citizens from passing to the northern Jordan Valley.

Human rights activist Aref Daraghmeh said that the occupation forces closed the checkpoint since 5:00 a.m. and returned all vehicles from the checkpoint, which hindered teachers from reaching their schools in the Jordan Valley communities.

In turn, the Director of Education in Tubas and the Northern Jordan Valley, Azmi Balawneh, told WAFA that all teachers were unable to reach their schools today due to the complete closure of the checkpoint.

He pointed out that teachers have been subjected to harassment and difficulty in reaching their schools for a long time due to the restrictions on the checkpoint, but today they were unable to reach their schools at all, and the education buses that transport students from the Bedouin camps and the Jordan Valley communities to their schools were unable to pass.

He also explained that the occupation forces
imposed humiliating measures today against everyone who was at the checkpoint, adding that teachers were also subjected to these violations.

Balawneh noted that teachers are exposed to great difficulties and risks due to the restrictions and closure of checkpoints, as they leave their homes daily at dawn, so that they can reach schools on time, as they are subjected to being stopped at the checkpoint for hours, indicating that the Israeli occupation’s procedures at the Tayasir checkpoint impede the educational process in seven schools, distributed across the villages of Bardala, Kardala, and Ein al-Baida, in addition to the Jordan Valley camps.

He added that 120 male and female teachers pass daily through the checkpoints to the northern Jordan Valley and are subjected to these harassments, in addition to the employees of the Education Office in the Jordan Valley who are subjected to the same conditions, which impedes the workflow.

The Tayasir and Hamra checkpoints leading to the Jordan Valley have been see
ing daily restrictions and closures from time to time for about a year, which leads to obstructing the movement of citizens to and from the Jordan Valley, obstructing teachers’ access to their schools, in addition to obstructing workers and farmers’ access to their lands, which negatively affects the agricultural movement in the region that depends mainly on agriculture.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA