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NEW SCHOOL OPENED FOR BEDOUIN CHILDREN NEAR JERUSALEM

Jerusalem, September 23rd, 2010 - A new school for 300 children who were previously educated in shipping containers was opened today in the village of Arab Al-Jahalin, outside Jerusalem.

The new school consists of six classrooms, bathrooms and a kitchen and cost 150,000 Euros. It was funded by the Government of Germany and built by the United Nations Development Programme, with the co-operation of Jahalin Council and the German Development Service.

The Arab al Jahalin tribe originated from the Negev desert which they left in 1948 to travel between Ramallah and Jerusalem. After 1967, it became impossible to maintain their nomadic way of life and they settled outside Jerusalem. They were again moved when Israel built the settlement of Maaleh Adumim and settled in what is now the village of Arab al Jahaleen between Abu Dis and Maaleh Adumim.

The inauguration ceremony for the new school was held on Thursday September 23rd, 2010 in the presence of Mohammed Abu Zeid, Deputy-Minister of Education, Sami Kayed, of the Ministry of Local Governance, Götz Lingenthal, head of the German Representative Office in Ramallah, Adnan Husseini, Governor of Jerusalem, Isam Far'oun, Mayor of Aizerieh, Ali Abu Ghalieh, head of Jahalin Council, Marc Engelhardt, head of KfW in the occupied Palestinian territory, and Geoff Prewitt, team leader and senior governance advisor of the United Nations Development Programme.

Mr. Götz Lingenthal, Head of the German Representative Office said: "The construction of the Jahalin School shows that German Development Cooperation particularly aims on improving the situation of people most in need. The joint efforts of KfW, UNDP and DED will help to built a better future for the children of the Jahalin"

Since 2002, UNDP and KfW have completed more than 530 projects in the West Bank and Gaza Strip worth over 71 million Euros to provide services and employment to the Palestinian people. DED has been working with the Jahalin Bedouin as part of the Program for Democracy Promotion since 2008.

For further information, please contact:

In Jerusalem: Dania Darwish, Communications Officer - UNDP/PAPP, Tel. +972-2-6268229, e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org. Conal Urquhart, External Relations Advisor - UNDP/PAPP, Tel. +972-2-6268200, e-mail: conal.urquhart@undp.org. For more information on UNDP/PAPP, see: http://www.undp.ps

UNDP is the UN's global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.