RAMALLAH, Monday, March 8, 2021 (WAFA) – The Education Ministry today threatened to deal firmly with any school embracing the Israeli curriculum in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The Ministry reiterated its rejection of any attempt to adopt the Israeli curriculum, including subjects such as history which are viewed by Palestinians as tantamount to adopting the historical narrative of the enemy, in Palestinian schools.

It threatened to hold any party accountable for encouraging the attempts to introduce the Israeli textbooks in Palestinian private schools in the city due to the national, educational and legal risks posed to the Palestinian question.

It called upon the civil society organizations to take a firm stance on attempts aimed at undermining the Palestinian education system in the city.

The Israeli occupation authorities have been relentlessly attempting to push their curriculum in Palestinian schools in return for pledges of financial support, and have been doing so under the guise of closing the gaps in education, poverty and unemployment that have afflicted Jerusalemite Palestinians.

Although Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a part of the internationally recognized Palestinian Territory that has been subject to Israeli military occupation since 1967, they are denied their citizenship rights and are instead classified only as "residents" whose permits can be revoked if they move away from the city for more than a few years.

They are also discriminated against in all aspects of life including housing, employment and services, and are unable to access services in the West Bank due to the construction of Israel's separation wall.

K.F.