Agreement averts financial crisis at Gaza's Al-Aqsa University
The ministries of education in Gaza and the West Bank reached an agreement to end the standoff at Al-Aqsa University over administrative appointments, which had put the education of thousands of students in jeopardy.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — After months of deliberations between Gaza- and Ramallah-run education ministries, an agreement was reached March 29 ending the crisis at Al-Aqsa University in the Gaza Strip — the largest public university in the Palestinian territories. The crisis lasted for a year and a half and threatened the future of 1,000 employees and more than 27,000 students.
The crisis broke out in September 2015 when the Hamas-run Ministry of Education and Higher Education appointed Mohammed Radwan — without consulting the Ramallah-based Ministry of Education and Higher Education — as acting president of the university. This occurred after former chairman Ali Abu Zuhri submitted his resignation. The ministry in Ramallah resisted this appointment and threatened to withdraw its accreditation of the university if its counterpart in Gaza did not take back its decision to appoint Radwan.
