Gaza City: The Hamas government in Gaza said on Tuesday it will not permit thousands of protesting teachers to return to work.

The West Bank-based teachers’ union called for a strike in Gaza in August, which was widely seen as an attempt to disrupt daily life in Gaza and weaken Hamas.

Most of the teachers receive their salaries from the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Schools kept running despite the strike and Hamas hired 2,200 new teachers and administrators.