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NABLUS (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities on Sunday morning denied Palestinian Minister of Education Khawla al-Shakhshir entry to the Gaza Strip, where she was expected to take part in the official inauguration of the new school year.

Al-Shakhshir told Ma'an that she submitted an application last week to visit Gaza but on Sunday Israeli authorities rejected her application.

The Gaza-based education ministry undersecretary Ziad Thabit said in a statement early Sunday morning, however, that the minister had not "coordinated her visit to Gaza" with him.

Israel limits the travel of Palestinians between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, frequently refusing permission even to high-level Palestinian officials to cross between the two occupied territories.

Although the school year began in late August across the West Bank, schools in Gaza began on Sunday as a result of the more than 50-day Israeli offensive over the summer that left more than 2,100 Palestinians dead in the besieged coastal enclave.