Israel denies Palestinian education minister access to Gaza

Israel yesterday denied Palestinian Education Minister Sabri Saidam entry into the besieged Gaza Strip through the Beit Hanoun crossing, known as Erez in Israel, in northern Gaza.

“Israel has refused to grant Minister Saidam and his delegation permission to enter the Gaza Strip,” Kamal Al-Sharafi, chairman of the board of trustees of Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, told Anadolu news agency.

He explained that the education minister’s visit, which was scheduled to take place yesterday, aimed to declare solutions for the administrative crisis experienced by the Al-Aqsa University for the past two years.

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He noted that efforts were being made to allow the minister entry into Gaza later next week.

The Al-Aqsa University crisis started in 2015 after the Hamas-run Ministry of Education appointed an acting president of the university, and the Palestinian ministry in Ramallah appointed another person for the same position.

As a result of the crisis, the salaries of a number of academics and administrators at the university were cut while local banks froze about $9 million of university funds.