GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The Knesset passed Feb. 12 a law applying the Israeli education law to academic institutions in West Bank settlements, which implies placing the institutions under Israeli sovereignty. The law's passage has angered Palestinians, considering it to be another Israeli step toward settlement annexation.
Haaretz reported the same day that what is known as the Ariel University law seeks to “bring the academic institutions in the territories under the aegis of the Council for Higher Education in Israel.” Previously, academic institutions in the West Bank settlements were placed under the auspices of a separate higher education council established in the 1990s.