“The judging process examines the qualities and achievements of the candidates themselves only,” the Varkey Foundation, which administers the award, said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press .

Hanan al-Hroub in March was awarded the UK-based Foundation’s prestigious Global Teacher Prize for her ‘No To Violence’ curriculum for children in the West Bank.

Her husband, Omar al-Hroub, served ten years an Israeli prison after he was convicted for providing the chemicals for the production of bombs which were used in a deadly attack against Israelis in Hebron in 1980, the AP reported.

Hanan and Omar al-Hroub declined AP’s request for comment.

An article in Qatari newspaper al-Araby al-Jadid described Omar al-Hroub as a “freedom fighter … who took part in one of the most daring guerrilla operations in the occupied territories,” the Jewish Telegraph Agency reports.

Qadura Faris, director of the Palestinian prisoners’ association told AP that Omar al-Hroub, who served as a deputy Cabinet minister in the Palestinian Authority, accepted the 1993 Olso Accords and supports a two-state solution with Israel.

Al-Hroub, Faris says, continues to serve as a senior PA official and “believes in [President Mahmoud Abbas’] peaceful approach.”

Hanan al-Hroub developed her play-based approach, aimed at addressing violence and tension, after her children witnessed her husband being shot by Israeli soldiers during the second intifada, the Times of Israelreports.

Her curriculum “led to a decline in violent behavior in schools where this is usually a frequent occurrence; she has inspired her colleagues to review the way they teach, their classroom management strategies and the sanctions they use,” reads a description on the website of the Varkey Foundation’s Global Teacher Prize.

(Staff with agencies)