Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Japan have condemned Israeli authorities’ closure of six schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in occupied East Jerusalem, Al Jazeera reports.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement condemning the closures, saying that it “considers the deprivation of children from education a new crime in the ongoing series of Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories”.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry also condemned what it called Israel’s “continued obstinance and systemic targeting of UNRWA”, while Japan’s Representative Office to Palestine said the move threatens “the fundamental right to education of 800 pupils”.