Al-Shallal school is a secondary school based in al-Oja in the Jordan Valley. Constructed just before the beginning of the current school year, which was delayed due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the school was set to accommodate over 115 pupils from the village.

Like most Palestinian structures built in Area C, the school was built without permit because Israeli occupying authorities reject about 95% of construction permits filed by Palestinians.

On 21 September 2020, JLAC's attorney Suleiman Shahin filed a petition to the Israeli High Court on behalf of the village and the school administration, demanding an injunction to freeze the demolition order against the school. In the meantime, JlAC also filed a retroactive building permit to the Israeli Civil Administration, followed by another request to exempt the school from obtaining a construction permit on humanitarian grounds and due to the important educational goal the school serves.

Before the scheduled High Court hearing on 6 January 2021, the Civil Administration's attorney general office notified JLAC that accepts examining the requests for authorization and exemption if JLAC agrees to drop the petition, granted that no further construction takes place. Through Advocate Shahin, JLAC agreed to drop the petition pending three conditions: extending the injunction freezing the demolition order until the Civil Administration decides on the authorization or the exemption requests; excluding restoration or maintenance-related activity from the prohibition against future construction work without permit; and sending the petitioners a written notice if the ICA perceives that they had violated the terms of the agreement.

The Court accepted JLAC's conditions, offering the school and the pupils a temporary reprieve.

The threats against al-Shallal school coincide with one of the most notorious spikes in Israeli demolitions targeting the occupied West Bank, especially Area C. According to OCHA, 2020 saw the highest number of demolished Palestinian structures in four years, and the second highest-ever since OCHA began collecting data.

For more details on Al Auja Secondary School and JLAC previous interventions, please see our earlier Urgent Appeal: https://www.jlac.ps/details.php?id=shokn9a2178ydbtc26c7v