Israel revokes permanent licenses of 6 E. Jerusalem schools over controversial textbooks
JERUSALEM, July 29– Israel has revoked the permanent licenses of six Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, citing that their textbooks contain content deemed as “incitement” against Israel and its military. The schools’ textbooks include content that glorifies Palestinian prisoners and their armed struggle against Israel, and accuses Israeli soldiers of…
JERUSALEM, July 29 (Xinhua) — Israel has revoked the permanent licenses of six Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem, citing that their textbooks contain content deemed as “incitement” against Israel and its military.
Israeli Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton announced the order late on Thursday. The principals of the six schools, with around 2,000 pupils in total, were summoned to a hearing, at the end of which their permanent operating licenses were denied.
The schools were given conditional licenses which will be in effect for one year. Only if the deemed “incitement” content is removed can they receive the permanent licenses again, the Israeli Ministry of Education said in a statement.
The schools’ textbooks include content that glorifies Palestinian prisoners and their armed struggle against Israel, and accuses Israeli soldiers of conducting killings, displacements and military massacres, it said.
Incitement against the state of Israel and its soldiers in the school textbooks is “an intolerable phenomenon that will be dealt with severely,” Shasha-Biton was quoted as saying.
For decades, disputes over the textbooks used by Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem have existed between the two sides. The Palestinians slam Israel for interfering in their choice of textbooks and hindering them from receiving financial assistance for education from international organizations and Western countries. Enditem