MK Tzvi Sukkot, who chairs the Knesset Education Committee, made a surprise visit on Thursday morning to the "Shabat al Muslamat" school in Jerusalem and said he found materials inciting terrorism. Police officers accompanying the visit quickly seized the school materials suspected of incitement.
Sukkot said the case was especially serious because the school operates illegally, is run by the Waqf, and was built on land the Jerusalem Municipality had originally allocated for an educational institution. He said the school does not have approval from the Education Ministry.
"I demand that law enforcement authorities act immediately to close this school. This is a crazy event that is unacceptable," Sukkot said. He added that Israel cannot accept a situation in which public land meant for the education of Jerusalem’s children becomes, in his words, a base for illegal activity and the spread of inciting content.
Sukkot said the Education Committee will keep following the issue and will demand that all relevant authorities hold those responsible to account. He said every educational institution in Jerusalem, and in Israel generally, must operate under Israeli law and values, and warned that anyone using the education system to promote incitement and undermine Israeli sovereignty will face zero tolerance. He said it was time to restore governance in East Jerusalem’s education system and ensure every child studies in a lawful, supervised environment free of incitement.
