Knesset passes law to sack Arab teachers who support attacks against Israelis

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) – The Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed a law early Tuesday allowing the sacking of Arab teachers who show support for attacks against Israelis.

The bill was approved in the second and third reading by 55-45 votes.

It authorizes the Education Ministry to fire teachers without prior notice and cut funding for schools that show support for attacks against Israeli citizens and targets.

The bill specifically mentions Arab schools in occupied East Jerusalem, where allegedly “incite minors against the state of Israel,” according to the law’s explanatory section.

Opponents of the law argue that it grants disproportionate power to the Education Ministry, enabling it to act in ways that could harm freedom of speech and potentially target Arab schools without judicial oversight

The bill came one day after Israel withdrew from a 1967 agreement that recognizes the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Tension has escalated across the Palestinian territories over Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 43,400 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack last year.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar