
Several preschools in Beitar Illit's "Rav Shach" neighborhood do not have proper security, Kikar Hashabbat reported.
Beitar Illit is located directly across the road from the Palestinian Authority (PA) Arab town of Husan, and PA Arabs are constantly entering and leaving the city for work reasons.
The preschools in question are located very close to the Arab village, with just a single security fence between them. These preschools also meet the criteria for preschools which are required to have armed security guards: Each one has at least 100 children, and some of them have more.
"Unfortunately, preschools in the city of Beitar Illit have become a ticking time bomb," parents told Kikar Hashabbat. "Most of the preschools and daycares in the city do not have a single security guard, unlike most of the schools in the city, which are protected by guards. These are locations with over 100 children, and near them are construction sites with Palestinian workers from the most dangerous areas in Judea and Samaria."
"Does a tragedy need to happen for us to wake up? How is the blood of the preschool children different than that of those in schools throughout the city?"
The Beitar Illit municipality responded, "Unfortunately, the government has set the funding for the security guards in educational institutions, in a way which is not sufficient, so that the institutions themselves are forced to pay some of the costs of security. We emphasize that all the educational institutions which turned to us are guarded according to the regulations which the government set."
"There are institutions which cannot afford to make the payments set by the government, and therefore they do not have consistent security. We have warned about this issue of security in educational institutions - which is not sufficient - for many years, but as said, the government does not sufficiently fund the costs of security.
"We call again on the Israeli government to wake up and set aside the full budgets for the security of the city's children."
Israel Police did not respond to Kikar Hashabbat's request for comment.