(JNS) A group of middle school parents in the Binyamin community of Beit El in southern Samaria kept their children home from school on Sunday, as the school and its outdoor sports courts are located near a construction site where approximately 50 Palestinian Authority workers arrive each day.
They sent a message of protest to municipal and school officials that changes are needed before they can confidently allow their children to attend classes. Some parents have indicated that they may keep their children home again if security at the site—which currently has three guards—is not increased.
Residents in municipalities throughout Judea and Samaria, including Beit El, cannot independently determine which workers are allowed into their communities, as the authority lies with the regional Israel Defense Forces commander.
Communities can, though, make that determination based on the recommendations of their local security chief.
Beit El resident Eliyahu Cohen, who kept his seventh-grade son home on Sunday, told JNS that the status quo can’t continue. Cohen questioned the rationale for allowing PA workers into Beit El, referencing reports after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre that some Arab laborers in Gaza-border communities gathered intelligence on Israeli communities ahead of the attack.
“The Arab workers are surveilling us; they know exactly how many kids are in the school. They are interacting and talking with the students. Let’s be real, they want to kill us all,” he said.
According to Cohen, parents are demanding solutions from the municipality and are adamant that they will stop sending their children to school if the situation continues.
He noted that since the adjacent project involves constructing multi-story buildings, it poses a safety hazard for the nearby school. He added that just this week, a large wooden plank fell from the construction site into the school’s play area, nearly striking a teacher.
“We know that it will be more expensive to bring in Jewish labor, but at least we will have peace of mind and security. Other projects here use Jewish labor, including the new mikveh [ritual bath]. When you want something done, it’s possible,” he added.
L.N. (name withheld on request), the mother of an eighth-grader in the middle school, who also kept her son at home on Sunday, told JNS that the lack of security shows disregard for the lives of the children at the school. She called on the school administration, the municipality, the building contractor and the local security chief to find a solution.
“The Arabs know everything about the school. They have the building plans, as they were the ones who did the construction. Another Oct. 7-type of attack can happen here. May God protect us,” she said.
Some students decided to take matters into their own hands, and several times this week blocked the workers’ entrance into the construction site, she said. However, local law enforcement officials were called to the scene and threatened to arrest the pupils and open criminal files if they failed to disperse, she added.
“It seems that some parents aren’t clear on this issue, so their children took the initiative. The kids took responsibility and the parents should learn from them,” L.N. said.
‘Ideology wears out’
Benjamin Sipzner, a university student from Beit El who doesn’t have children in the school but is concerned with overall security, told JNS that some people prefer cheap labor to safety. He said that as a result, “ideology wears out.”
“The security situation is disconcerting and uncomfortable. Everyone thinks “these Arabs [building on my project] are fine. One tragedy, and maybe they will wake up,” he added.
A spokesperson for the Beit El Municipality told JNS they are fully aware of the issues concerning the parents and are taking all necessary measures to ensure the security of the pupils in full coordination and approval of the area’s IDF brigade commander.
The spokesperson said that “with a heavy heart” they are permitting a minimum number of PA workers into the community for the building project, and the workers are restricted to the site itself under the watchful eye of the IDF and additional security personnel.
“There is no need to teach us [the municipality] about the importance of preventing the granting of work permits to workers from the PA,” he added.
The spokesperson explained that the current reality is a last-option manpower solution available to provide proper educational conditions, with constant security and supervision for the protection of the local children.
A meeting was held last Tuesday between parents’ representatives, the municipal director-general and the head of the municipal education department to discuss the parents’ security concerns.
A statement from the parents indicated that, among other demands, they are requesting additional security personnel at the construction site, that no workers be allowed on the side facing the school building and playground until the end of the school day, the construction of a higher wall to block the line of sight to students, and the installation of a protective mesh fence to catch any falling construction materials and thus prevent them from reaching areas where students are present.
After the meeting, the school’s principal announced that Education Ministry officials had visited the site, and planned to temporarily close the school’s outdoor play area until solutions could be implemented with the assistance of the municipality.
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