Jewish schools in Belgium and the Netherlands have closed after a major anti-terrorism raid by Belgian officers, owing to fears that they may be targeted by Islamist militants.

Schools in Brussels and Antwerp were shut today because of concerns that they could be “potential targets”, after Belgian police staged raids that left two suspected jihadists dead.

The only Orthodox Jewish school in the Netherlands was also closed as a precautionary measure, as cities across the region were placed on high alert.

The news comes a week after the atrocities in Paris that left 17 dead, including four Jewish shoppers who were killed while being held hostage in a kosher supermarket.

The violence led French ministers to place more than 5,000 security officers on 24-hour guard at Jewish schools across the country.

As TES reports today, Jewish schools in the UK are operating under a “heightened level of security” because of the threat of copycat attacks inspired by the murders in Paris.

According to reports, Belgian and Dutch officials took the decision to close the Jewish schools after two gunmen were killed and a third arrested last night when police raided their flat in Verviers, near the German border.

A Jewish school in Toulouse was targeted in 2012 by an Islamist gunman who shot and killed three students and a teacher. It was claimed last week that the intended target of one of the Paris gunmen was a Jewish school in the south of the French capital.

Related stories:

Why Jewish schools are on red alert in wake of Paris siege - 16 January 2015

France to deploy 5,000 police to protect Jewish schools - 12 January 2015