Racist far-right Israeli lawmaker’s visit sparks school strike in Palestinian city

Parents and community leaders in Umm al-Fahm, a major Palestinian city inside Israel, have announced a general strike across all schools over a planned visit by far-right Israeli lawmaker Zvi Succot.

Succot, a Religious Zionism party lawmaker who chairs the Knesset Education Committee, said he would visit the city on Sunday to ensure "a single shekel of state funding" does not go to schools he accused of inviting terrorist organisations to address pupils.

The city’s parents’ committee said all educational institutions, including special education programmes, would shut because of safety concerns and rising tensions. It called the visit a "provocative step" and an attempt to politicise schools.

Hadash party head Yousef Jabarin, a resident of Umm al-Fahm, called Succot "an inciter and racist" and said residents would oppose what he described as hate speech.

The planned visit has fuelled anger in the Palestinian city, where community leaders say Succot is seeking to provoke residents and incite against Palestinian schools.

Earlier this month, Succot was filmed trying to break into a school in Tuba Zangariyye, a Bedouin village in the Upper Galilee, using a disc saw to cut through a fence. His spokesperson confirmed the incident and said pupils were present.