The Belgian government has suspended funding for two school construction projects in the occupied Palestinian territories after it found out that a school it backed was later renamed after a woman who committed “a terror act” from its viewpoint.
Belgium said it financed building a school in the south of al-Khalil in 2013 only to find out later that local authorities changed its name to “Dalal Mughrabi Elementary School.” Its foreign ministry said that Mughrabi led a 1978 deadly attack against Israel.
According to a statement by the ministry two school projects totaling $3.9 million have been put on hold.
In response Palestinian education minister Sabri Saydam said in a statement that he regretted the Belgian action and invited the Belgian consul general to meet and discuss the matter.
Mughrabi is considered by many Palestinians to be a heroic resistance fighter. She was a member of the Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and participated in the 1978 coastal road attack in Israel. The attack resulted in the death of 38 Israelis.
