A/HRC/34/70 majority of the individuals affected by demolitions in 2016 were children (160 out of 295).19 16. As noted in the previous report of the Special Rapporteur, Palestinian communities in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are often subject to closures of streets that effectively seal off entire neighbourhoods, checkpoints and a heightened police presence, often as a form of collective punishment (see A/71/554, paras. 25-32). Defense for Children International-Palestine has called 2016 the deadliest year in a decade for Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with 32 children killed by Israeli forces. Proximity to large numbers of police officers in a tense environment, the near daily need to pass through checkpoints and the risk of eviction and demolition not only put children at risk of arrest, detention and abuse, but they also significantly limit access to basic services, including education. 17. Education in Jerusalem has become a political tool for some members of the Government of Israel, with the Education Minister, Naftali Bennet, declaring the 2016 school year “United Jerusalem” year, noting that it marks the fiftieth year since Israel unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem. Schools in East Jerusalem already receive significantly less funding than those in West Jerusalem, despite the existence of laws and High Court rulings that aim to prevent such discriminatory practices. 20 A 2011 High Court ruling held that the shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem in the official educational system constituted a violation of the students’ right to education, and mandated the construction of thousands of additional classrooms.21 As of 2016, the classroom shortage stood at 2,672, having only worsened since 2011. 22 Adalah, a legal centre for minority rights in Israel, noted that the High Court ruling made no mention of funding being conditional on the adoption of a particular curriculum and added that an unequal budgetary allocation that only had an impact on Arab schools would amount to discrimination. 23 The right to education is guaranteed by article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which Israel is a party. It therefore has an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil, with the obligation to fulfil incorporating the obligation to both facilitate and provide. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has further noted that education is both a human right in itself and an indispensable means of realizing other human rights, and that it must be accessible to everyone, without discrimination. 24 B. Gaza 18. In 2017, the Israeli blockade of Gaza enters its tenth year. As previously stated by the Special Rapporteur (A/71/554, para. 31) and the Secretary-General (A/HRC/24/30, paras. 21-23),25 the closure of Gaza amounts to collective punishment, which is prohibited under international law.26 Despite repeated calls to end the blockade from the international community, the situation on the ground is growing worse. 27 The movement of people in and 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 See www.btselem.org/planning_and_building/east_jerusalem_statistics. See Adalah, “Conditioning budgets for repairing East Jerusalem schools on adoption of Israeli curriculum is illegal”, 17 August 2016 and Nir Hasson, “Arab students in Jerusalem get less than half the funding of Jewish counterparts”, Haaretz, 23 August 2016. Association for Civil Rights in Israel, “HCJ: authorities have 5 years to provide public education in East Jerusalem”, 6 February 2011. Ir Amim, “Between the hammer and the anvil: persistent neglect and attempted coercion in the East Jerusalem education system” (September 2016). Adalah, “Conditioning budgets”. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 13 (1999) on the right to education. See also www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/remarks-un-secretary-general-ban-ki-moonpress-encounter-gaza. Fourth Geneva Convention, art. 33. The Human Rights Committee has further noted that the prohibition on collective punishment is non-derogable: see general comment No. 29 (2001) on derogations from provisions of the Covenant during a state of emergency. The previous report of the Special Rapporteur (A/71/554) addressed the economic and development impact of the blockade in depth. 5