Private and Christian schools in occupied East Jerusalem launched an open-ended strike on Tuesday, marking the start of the academic year with a protest against Israeli policies that include the enforcement of the Israeli curriculum and the blocking of entry permits for West Bank educators.

This action disrupts education for tens of thousands of Palestinian students in the city, which Israel has occupied since 1967. The move is seen by Palestinian officials and educators as a systematic effort to undermine Palestinian identity and national narrative through educational control.

The Israeli curriculum is now mandated for all new first and seventh-grade classes in Palestinian-majority municipal schools. Additionally, Israel has blocked entry permits for over 70 teachers and staff from the occupied West Bank, preventing them from reaching their schools in East Jerusalem. This has created a severe staffing shortage.

More than 45,000 Palestinian students, representing one in three in occupied East Jerusalem, will now be enrolled in the Israeli educational program. This marks a significant increase from six years ago, nearly quadrupling the number of students under the Israeli system.

Marouf al-Rifai, a spokesman for the Jerusalem Governorate, condemned the forced integration of the Israeli curriculum, calling it a "cultural and educational crime." He emphasized that adherence to the Palestinian curriculum is a defense of "memory, identity, history, and the right to determine the national narrative."

In recent times, Israeli forces have also seized educational facilities previously operated by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Shu’fat refugee camp and Kafr Aqab. These sites are slated to be replaced by Israeli-administered facilities.

Hamas official Haroun Nasser el-Din stated that "the school, the book, and awareness are basic pillars in the battle of Jerusalem," underscoring the symbolic and strategic importance of education in the ongoing conflict.

The General Secretariat for Christian Educational Institutions in Jerusalem announced the indefinite strike, citing the "surprised" and "sudden" non-renewal of permits for teachers and staff, which directly impacted the readiness of schools for the new academic year.