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Amnesty International has called for the release of Palestinian paediatrician Hussam Abu Safiya, who has completed 600 days in Israeli detention. He was abducted by the Israeli occupation on 27 December 2024 and has been held without charge or trial since
marwan
The Palestinian Education and Higher Education Ministry warned on Tuesday that Israel is systematically targeting education in occupied East Jerusalem to “erase national identity,” including by imposing its curriculum and barring teachers from schools.
On Monday, the Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate warned that, with the start of the academic year on Tuesday, Israel would begin imposing the Israeli curriculum on more than 45,000 Palestinian first- and seventh-grade students at schools run by the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem.
Earlier Tuesday, several private schools in Jerusalem, including Christian schools, went on strike as the new academic year began, protesting Israeli authorities’ failure to issue entry permits to teachers from the West Bank working at those schools.
In a statement, the Palestinian Education and Higher Education Ministry said developments concerning Israeli practices targeting education in Jerusalem were part of a “systematic and ongoing” campaign against the educational process.
It stressed that Palestinian students’ right in Jerusalem to education and to study the national curriculum is an “inalienable right guaranteed by international conventions and agreements.”
The ministry said Israeli authorities had prevented a number of male and female teachers and education staff from reaching their schools, particularly Christian schools, due to the failure to renew their entry permits.
It added that this prevented education staff from reaching their schools, directly affecting the regular start of the academic year.
The ministry said Israeli measures had also affected schools run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees and the national curriculum, in addition to preventing the construction of school buildings.
It called on the international community to take urgent action and exert pressure to halt these measures.
The ministry affirmed that it would continue following up on the issue with relevant parties and work to ensure the regular provision of education in Jerusalem schools and protect Palestinian students’ right to education.
Israel requires Palestinians from the West Bank to obtain special permits to enter occupied East Jerusalem, including for work, education, medical treatment and worship. The issuance of these permits is subject to strict restrictions and security procedures, and not all applicants receive them.
Since October 2023, Israel has obstructed the issuance of permits for Palestinian workers from the West Bank, including teachers, amid the genocide it has been carrying out in Gaza.
In January 2026, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a law banning the employment in the Israeli education system of teachers who obtained their academic degrees from institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.
According to an earlier report by Israeli newspaper Haaretz, implementation of the law directly affects the availability of teachers in occupied East Jerusalem, where around 6,700 teachers work in the city’s Arab education system, at least 60 percent of whom hold bachelor’s degrees from Palestinian academic institutions.
CrossFireArabia
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cairo on Tuesday evening for his first official visit to Egypt in 10 years.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received Xi at Cairo International Airport, according to an Anadolu correspondent.
The two leaders are expected to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and implementing the countries’ comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The Egyptian presidency said Tuesday that the visit would focus on implementing the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement signed by the two countries in 2014.
The talks will also include consultations on regional and international developments, according to the presidency.
In an article published Tuesday in Egyptian state-run newspapers Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhouria, Xi said relations between China and Egypt were in their “best period in history” after 70 years of friendship.
He called for a deeper, comprehensive strategic partnership and expanded high-quality cooperation under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Xi also called for stronger cultural exchanges and closer China-Arab and China-Africa cooperation.
Sisi, in an article published by Al-Ahram, said Egypt and China agreed that an expansion of armed conflicts would not serve the interests of any regional or international party.
China’s Foreign Ministry announced last Wednesday that Xi would undertake a foreign tour from Aug. 30 to Sept. 3, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
Xi last visited Egypt in January 2016, his first visit to the country since becoming president.
During that visit, Xi met Sisi and attended a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Sisi has visited China several times, most recently in May 2024.
Egypt and China established diplomatic relations in 1956, making Egypt the first Arab and African country to recognize the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing backed Cairo during the 1956 Suez Crisis, while Egypt supported China’s restoration of its seat at the UN in 1971.
The countries established a strategic partnership in 1999, which was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2014 during Sisi’s visit to Beijing. Anadolu
