Jerusalem – By Al-Quds special correspondent – In accordance with the routine in place since several months, students of the Rosary Sisters School who reside in Ramallah gathered at 6:00 am to be transported by the school bus to Beit Hanina. Usually the students arrive at the school yards around 7:30 am, but yesterday they could not arrive until 1:00 pm after making a long and rough trip and delays at checkpoints and under the threat of weapons and tear gas, and the result was losing a school day since little time was left for study.

Jerusalem – By Al-Quds special correspondent – In accordance with the routine in place since several months, students of the Rosary Sisters School who reside in Ramallah gathered at 6:00 am to be transported by the school bus to Beit Hanina. Usually the students arrive at the school yards around 7:30 am, but yesterday they could not arrive until 1:00 pm after making a long and rough trip and delays at checkpoints and under the threat of weapons and tear gas, and the result was losing a school day since little time was left for study.

School Principal Sister Ortance Nakhleh who usually accompanies the students says that the [Israeli] soldiers stopped the bus at the Qalandia checkpoint for four hours and did not allow it to leave except after exhausting negotiations with the officer in charge, despite her possession of a permit which allows the students to cross checkpoints.

She said the soldiers were not reluctant to direct weapons toward her face and threaten to shoot, and forbade her to come close to the checkpoint, all in front of the students who are 4-7 years of age.

She added that after crossing Qalandia checkpoint they were stopped at two other checkpoints (Al-Dahiya and Neve Ya’kov) for two hours.

The same thing occurred during the trip back home; vehicles were delayed at checkpoints which forced the school administration to contact the students’ parents and relatives to accompany their children. The last student left the school at 5:00 pm.