Christian schools in Jerusalem went on strike, suspending the start of the 2026–2027 academic year after the Israeli occupying authorities, unexpectedly and without prior notice, failed to renew the entry permits of more than 70 Palestinian teachers and staff members from the West Bank. As a result, teaching, administrative, and support personnel, including staff responsible for administration, health, sanitation, security, and safety, were prevented from reaching their schools, prompting the schools to suspend classes until the necessary permits are reissued.
The decision does not affect only the personnel concerned; it also threatens the continuity of education for approximately 26,000–28,000 students enrolled in the Christian and private schools affected by these arbitrary measures.
Christian schools in Jerusalem face a range of cumulative challenges that threaten their stability and their ability to continue fulfilling their educational and cultural roles. Financially, these schools face growing funding gaps, while portions of the financial support available to them are subject to conditions and oversight that may constrain their educational autonomy, including pressures concerning curricula and teaching practices. Palestinian curricula are also subject to scrutiny and restrictions that result in the removal or modification of content relating to Palestinian identity and history, with schools potentially facing financial or administrative sanctions for non-compliance.
In addition, checkpoints, the permit system, and the Annexation Wall impose persistent obstacles to the access of teachers and students from the West Bank to Jerusalem, repeatedly affecting the schools’ ability to provide regular and stable education. These measures are particularly significant given the historical role of Christian schools in Jerusalem. They are not merely educational institutions, but well-established religious and cultural institutions that contribute to preserving the Palestinian identity of the city, promote coexistence between Muslim and Christian students, support the resilience of Jerusalemite families, and preserve the city’s social and cultural fabric. They also serve as one of the remaining bridges connecting the West Bank with Jerusalem.
Importantly, Christian schools form part of the broader system of historic church rights and institutional presence, one that has developed around Jerusalem’s Status Quo arrangements. Constant targeted pressures on these schools contributes to the gradual erosion of an important component of Jerusalem’s Status Quo, while placing additional pressure on the historic Christian presence and the religious and social pluralism of the city.
Accordingly, disrupting Christian schools’ ability to operate regularly has implications extending beyond the individual rights of students and teachers to the stability of a fundamental institution within Jerusalem’s community.
Legal Framework and Analysis
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) affirmed that the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), including Jerusalem, constitutes a single territorial unit under international law. The Court further found that a wide range of Israeli legislation and measures imposed on Palestinians are not based on objective and reasonable criteria or a legitimate purpose, and that the system of restrictions imposed on Palestinians in the oPt constitutes systemic discrimination, contrary, inter alia, to Articles 2(1) and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 2(2) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
In this context, the permit system cannot be assessed in isolation from the broader system of restrictions on Palestinian movement in and access to Jerusalem. In its Advisory Opinion, the Court expressly addressed Israeli restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and situated them within broader policies aimed at maintaining long-term control over the territory. The Court further held that differential treatment in the application of such restrictions between Palestinians and Israelis cannot be justified merely by reference to general considerations unless it is based on reasonable and objective criteria and serves a legitimate purpose. Accordingly, the failure to renew the permits of more than 70 teachers and staff members, without prior notice or clear reasons, should not be assessed merely as an isolated administrative decision, but within the broader permit regime that effectively determines Palestinians’ ability to access, work, and provide education in Jerusalem.
It also extends to undermining a component of the Status Quo that safeguards the continuity of Christian religious and educational institutions and their connection to the broader Palestinian community. In this context, restrictions on the movement of teachers and students, alongside interventions in curricula and financial and administrative pressures, form part of a broader pattern of measures that violates Jerusalem’s Status Quo arrangements by weakening the ability of Christian institutions to perform their functions and maintain their historic presence in Jerusalem, gradually threatening the city’s religious and social pluralism.
The right to education is expressly protected under Article 13 of the ICESCR, which recognizes the right of everyone to education. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its General Comment No. 13, has clarified that education is a human right in itself and that educational institutions and programmes must be effectively available and accessible. The protection of the right to education therefore extends beyond preventing the closure of schools or the direct exclusion of students from education; it also requires the removal of barriers that prevent educational institutions from operating regularly and effectively.
These protections also apply in the context of occupation. Article 50 of the Fourth Geneva Convention requires the occupying power to facilitate the proper working of institutions devoted to the care and education of children, including the maintenance of existing educational institutions. Given that the failure to renew the permits of more than 70 teachers and staff members has effectively resulted in the suspension of classes and affected approximately 26,000–28,000 students, the measure does not merely restrict the movement of individuals. It directly affects the ability of established educational institutions to continue performing their functions and creates a material barrier to the effective enjoyment of the right to education.
The incident also engages Article 12 of the ICCPR, concerning freedom of movement, as well as the right to work protected under Article 6 of the ICESCR. In its 2004 Advisory Opinion on the Wall, the ICJ affirmed that restrictions imposed on the movement of Palestinians in the oPt may violate Article 12 of the ICCPR and that their effects extend to other rights, including the rights to work and education. The Court further emphasized that restrictions on freedom of movement must satisfy the requirements of necessity and proportionality and must not exceed what is necessary to achieve a legitimate purpose.
These measures also have a significant cultural and religious dimension in relation to Christian schools in Jerusalem. These institutions are not merely private educational providers; they are longstanding institutions embedded in the religious, cultural, and social life of the city and serve students from both Christian and Muslim backgrounds. Consequently, disrupting their ability to operate regularly indirectly affects the exercise of the cultural and social rights of the Jerusalemite community, particularly in light of the ICJ’s finding that Israeli policies and practices in East Jerusalem are aimed at entrenching control over the city and producing lasting and irreversible effects on the territory. The Court concluded that a range of such policies and practices, including the application of Israeli law in Jerusalem and restrictions imposed on Palestinian, contribute to the entrenchment of Israeli control over the city and to altering its status in a manner contrary to international law.