The European Union has condemned Israel’s demolition earlier this month of a school in the occupied West Bank village of Aqqaba that was being built with EU and French funding, Al Jazeera reports.

The school, torn down by Israeli authorities on August 5, had been intended to serve hundreds of Palestinian children.

In a statement, an EU spokesperson said the bloc is “appalled” by the demolition and “expects its investments in support of the Palestinian people to be protected from damage and destruction by Israel, in accordance with international law”.

France also previously condemned the demolition, stating it is “holding the Israeli authorities to account for this action”.