Decision No. 219 on the Protection of Schools

On July 2, 2006, the Israeli government, through Decision No. 219, approved a protection plan developed by the Home Front Command. This plan designated twenty-four schools in the Gaza border area for protection, including sixteen primary schools and eight secondary schools.

The protection was to be implemented using the ‘protected area’ system. Under this system, not all classrooms were fully protected. Some classrooms were reinforced, while others remained unprotected but were located close to protected areas. This proximity allowed students in unprotected classrooms to move quickly to a safe zone when a warning was issued about an incoming ‘Qassam’ rocket attack.

Following the adoption of Decision No. 219, a petition was filed with the High Court of Justice, requesting that the government provide full protection for all classrooms within the 15-second response time in case of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the government initially decided to provide full protection to all kindergartens and classrooms for students in first through third grade. However, the Court ruled that this measure was insufficient given the threat and ordered the government to protect all classrooms up to the twelfth grade. As a result of the Court’s decision, all classrooms in the region were fully protected.