The government, not Defense Minister Ehud Barak, must make the final decision on whether Ariel University Center can become a full university, Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Monday.
After nearly two months of deliberation since The Council for Higher Education in Judea and Samaria granted Ariel University Center full university status, Barak wrote a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recommending that the decision be made after a Supreme Court ruling on the matter.
Since Ariel is in the West Bank, which is under the IDF’s authority, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Nitzan Alon must sign the document making Ariel a university, and may only do so after receiving instructions from Barak.
“This is a transparent trick by Barak, which is meant to delay the recognition of Ariel as a university,” Sa’ar said.