How Israel is tightening its grip on Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem

Jamal Shalabi is a 66-year-old chemistry teacher living in el-Bireh, in the occupied West Bank, but since 1998 he has taught in occupied East Jerusalem, making the commute through Israeli checkpoints every day. The process was tiring, but it allowed him to work. But he now fears that soon won’t be the case, after he was informed by his school’s administration that he was one of 180 Palestinian teachers whose travel permits allowing them entry into East Jerusalem would be revoked upon their expiry at the end of the 2026-27 academic year.

Permits were already a problem for teachers like Shalabi this year, when the issuance of documents was delayed until September 15, two weeks after the academic year began. Permits were also delayed last January. The delays in both January and September led to school strikes in East Jerusalem, a move intended to exert pressure and demonstrate a unified stance against these Israeli measures.

Shalabi explained that even when the permits are approved, they are severely restrictive.