Palestinian schoolchildren on Thursday were prevented from accessing their school after Israeli forces covered an area south of Hebron's Old City with teargas and Skunk water, locals said. The area surrounding the Tariq Ibn Zaid school in the occupied West Bank city erupted after the Israeli army said a Palestinian hurled a tear gas canister at Abu a-Reesh military checkpoint, Israeli media reported. Two Israeli soldiers reportedly suffered from tear gas inhalation, and one soldier sustained minor wounds after being hit by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device hurled by a Palestinian towards the checkpoint, the reports said. Israeli forces then fired tear gas and foul-smelling Skunk water into the surrounding Palestinian area, according to locals. Palestinian medical sources said several schoolchildren suffered from tear gas inhalation after attempting to reach the school. An Israeli army spokesperson did not have immediate information on the incident. Tariq Ibn Zaid school is located in the "H2" area of Hebron and is under full Israeli military control. Several alleged, attempted, and actual attacks have been carried out by Palestinian individuals on Israeli military present in the area since the beginning of last month. Over 500 Israeli settlers live under the armed protection of Israeli military forces in the "H2" area at the expense of the zone's around 30,000 Palestinian residents. Palestinian PM Rami Hamdallah earlier this month called for Palestinian security forces to be allowed to patrol the al-Shuhada Street and Tel Rumeida areas of the "H2" zone in order to provide "security and protection" for Palestinian residents. Residents have come under severe restrictions on movement, random security searches, and detentions by Israeli military, as well as attacks from the Israeli settler population.
