Jerusalem: Israeli politicians Sunday condemned an attack on the country’s largest Jewish-Arab school in Jerusalem.
Parts of the Max Rayne Hand in Hand Jerusalem School were Saturday set on fire damaging several classrooms, Xinhua reported.
“We will not let extremists set fire to the coexistence that still exists,” Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said.
The school is jointly run by Jewish and Arab educationists since 1998 with more than 1,000 pupils studying there.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the government is making “tremendous efforts” to restore calm to Jerusalem, which “does not correspond with the attack on the bilingual school”.
He added that Israel “condemns such acts” and that he will “work sternly and unanimously to bring calm and order back”.
Education Minister Shai Piron described the incident as “violent, criminal and despicable” and one that sought to “undermine the fabric of relations between Jews and Arabs”. In a statement, he also called upon the police to bring those responsible to justice.