Israel is reopening 16 vocational and training colleges in the West Bank that it shut down more than two years ago because they became centers of unrest, Shlomo Goren, coordinator of government affairs in the territory, announced Monday.
The colleges, which served nearly 5,000 students, were closed in January 1988, a month after the intifada broke out.
Arab universities closed at the same time will remain closed, Goren said.
He said he summoned the college heads this week to inform them that the reopenings will be in stages and must be closely coordinated with the Israeli Civil Administration.
If disturbances occur, the colleges will be immediately re-closed, he warned.
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