WASHINGTON, July 11 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The White House Wednesday, July 10, rebuked Israel for its “troubling” closure of the administrative offices of the Palestinian Al-Quds University in east Jerusalem, tarring the move as unproductive.

“This action does not contribute to the fight against terrorism, does not promote reform of Palestinian institutions,” spokesman Ari Fleischer said in a statement, adding that U.S. officials were discussing the matter with Israel, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Earlier Wednesday, Israeli police said they had closed the offices of university President Sari Nusseibeh, a Palestinian moderate, on orders from Public Security Minister Uzi Landau.

Landau told Israeli public radio the closure was ordered because the offices were being illegally used as the Jerusalem representation of the Palestinian Authority.

But Fleischer called the closure “a troubling event,” and upbraided Israel by noting that U.S. President George W. Bush “has called for opening the political landscape to moderate voices.”

Earlier, U.S. deputy State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington was “looking into the circumstances” of the closure, during which police drove off with documents and computers seized from the offices and changed the locks.

“We may find it potentially troubling, but that’s why we’re looking into it. We’re raising the issue with the government of Israel through diplomatic channels,” said Reeker, who declined to offer further details.

Nusseibeh’s lawyer, Jawada Boulos, said he would appeal the closure in court.

The closure amounted to “a new violation by Israel of the Israeli-Palestinian accords authorizing the functioning of Palestinian institutions,” Palestinian Interior Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo protested.

Israel shut down Orient House in east Jerusalem August 10 following a Palestinian resistance attack in west Jerusalem on similar grounds, drawing a rebuke from Washington.

Orient House was the unofficial headquarters in Jerusalem of the PLO and symbolized Palestinian ambitions to make the eastern sector the capital of a future state of their own.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war, along with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Golan Heights.