States orders closure of East Jerusalem school for suspected links to Hamas
In a statement on Facebook, the school denounced the 'barbaric and unexpected decision'
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Israeli authorities ordered on Thursday the closure of an elementary school in East Jerusalem over suspected links to Hamas.
The al-Nkhba school in Sur Baher opened in 2016 and is accused of being established by persons connected to the Islamist terror group which rules the Gaza Strip and of teaching a curriculum which "undermines the sovereignty of the State of Israel," a statement from the Education Ministry said.
On its Facebook page the school said more than 250 students are enrolled.
Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said that police on Thursday also questioned the school's principal under "suspicion of violating a legal provision and management of an educational institution without a license."
The principal, Louis Jamal, was later released.
Jamal denied the allegations in an interview with the Israeli daily Haaretz, calling them "nonsense" and claims that they were set up.
"This is a regular, high-level school. At the beginning of the year we received temporary permits and everything was fine until someone set us up," he told the paper.
The Education Ministry, meanwhile, says that permits were never issued to the school and it was ordered not to open- a decision which was ratified in court.
In the police spokeswoman's statement she said that the Ministry of Education filed a complaint with the police after the school violated this order.
In a statement on Facebook, the school denounced the "barbaric and unexpected decision" as part of a "fierce attack" by Israel's Shin Bet Security Service based on unfounded allegations.
"We are going to fight to the end to defend the school which got all the (necessary) permits at the beginning of the school year," it added.
Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the United States and the European Union.