A/HRC/25/38 waste management infrastructure projects, which has resulted in the curbing of Palestinian projects, especially in Area C.98 As Areas A and B are already mostly built up, the suitable locations for waste treatment sites are in Area C. The situation appears to be aggravated by delays in the Israeli approval and licensing process, which can last for over a decade.99 In addition, Israel has also made the development of projects on serving settlements,100 which worsens the situation, as the Palestinian Authority systematically refuses to engage with settlements, to avoid giving legal recognition to them. For instance, Israel refused a construction licence to a German-funded project in 2009 for the construction of a water treatment plant for Salfit in Area C. The rejection was premised on the interest of Israel in a joint project which would include treatment of Ariel’s wastewater. The proposal entailed the untreated wastewater travelling 12 kilometres through the villages of Bruqin and Kufr al-Deek towards the Green Line, where the proposed plant would be erected.101 Right to education 34. Cases have been documented of groups of settlers attacking schools in Palestinian villages. For example, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) documented five incidents of attacks on schools in the village of Urif, south of Nablus, and close to the settlement of Yitzhar, from January to June 2013.102 These attacks usually led to clashes between the settlers and the residents, followed by interventions by the Israeli Security Forces (ISF) using tear gas, rubber-coated metal bullets and live ammunition to disperse Palestinians. 35. In a case documented by OHCHR, on 24 October 2013 a group of approximately 30 settlers, most of them masked, attacked the school in Jalud village. Some threw stones at the school, while others attempted to enter the schoolyard from the main gate and through the fence. The teachers locked the door from the inside, in order to protect the children. The settlers proceeded to destroy the cars parked in and around the school, and subsequently set fire to olive groves nearby. As a result of the attack, five cars were destroyed and more than 350 olive trees burned. Jalud is surrounded by six Israeli settlements, in addition to an IDF camp, and is the target of frequent settler violence, especially during the olive harvest. According to the information available to OHCHR, the Israeli police subsequently arrested four suspects for this attack. 36. Besides attacking schools, settlers also often engage in violent attacks on children on their way to or from school, including throwing stones at school buses. In some locations on the West Bank, ISF provide escorts for children to ensure their safety; however, these escorts are often unreliable and frequently fail to show up.103 98 99 100 101 102 103 14 “Building and administrative restrictions imposed by the Israeli authorities impede the establishment of new solid and sewage waste facilities to help to alleviate waste disposal issues”, from “Barrier impacts on waste management”, Barrier Monitoring Unit (BMU) and ARIJ, 2012. On 31 October 2013, the Minister of the Palestinian Water Authority stated that delays in approval of projects entail changing the locations several times, often causing the loss of funding. For instance, in 2010, Israel approved a water treatment project for West Nablus submitted in 1997. See also B’Tselem, “Foul play” (note 87 above), pp. 19-21. Barrier Impacts on Waste Management (note 98 above); and B’tselem, Foul Play (note 87 above), pp. 21-22. The Current Environmental Situation in Salfit, ARIJ, 2008, p. 1, available from http://www.poica.org/editor/case_studies/salfit-environ.pdf (in Arabic). Information obtained through the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism on Grave Child Rights Violations. A/HRC/22/63, para. 53.