With the closure of UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, Israel’s year-long systematic campaign strips Palestinian children of their right to education

Armed Israeli forces stormed and forcibly shut down three UNRWA-run schools in the Shuafat refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem, enforcing illegal closure orders issued in early April.

The move, which affected approximately 800 students, is the latest in a systematic campaign by the Israeli occupation targeting Palestinian educational institutions in Jerusalem.

Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, condemned the raids and forced closures, describing them as “a blatant disregard of international law.”

He added on the social platform X, “Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn. UNRWA schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children.”

However, UNRWA schools are not alone in their struggle. Al Furqan, a network of five schools established in 1995 with 1,200 male and female students, is also embroiled in a legal battle with the Israeli Ministry of Education, which claims the schools are “unlicensed” and operating “illegally.”

Hayat Al-Husseini, chair of Al Furqan Schools' board of directors, explained, “The Israeli Ministry officially acknowledged that the schools meet 88% of licensing requirements, even though a minimum of 67% is considered sufficient by law. But despite our high ratings, they still want to shut us down, raising questions about their motives.”

A systematic campaign 

The forced closure of Palestinian schools is part of a broader strategy by the Israeli occupation, which includes withholding financial support, refusing to renew licenses, and imposing Israeli curricula on Palestinian schools.

Medhat Deebeh, a legal advisor for the Jerusalem governorate, noted that the Israeli authorities relied on a law passed by the Knesset months ago, which bans UNRWA activities within areas under Israeli control, including Jerusalem and its suburbs.

“This decision will exacerbate the severe shortage of schools, as the occupation's municipality refuses to provide adequate educational alternatives for the city's Palestinian residents, leaving many students without access to education,” he said.

Medhat further explained that this systematic policy aims to impose the Israeli curriculum on Arab schools “to change the educational and administrative identity in East Jerusalem.”

He added, “It's a clear violation of all international laws and regulations, given that Jerusalem is under occupation.”

Hayat emphasised that operations at Al Furqan continue despite the closure order, as the schools are licensed by the Palestinian Ministry of Education.

“The Israeli Ministry stopped paying teachers' salaries four years ago to force us to close, yet despite a few new hires, the vast majority of the staff, about 120 employees, have remained steadfast in defiance of this policy,” she said, adding that the best-case scenario would be for the Palestinian Ministry of Education to officially adopt the schools to ensure their long-term sustainability.

Suheir Mekkawi, a teacher and deputy principal at Al Furqan, has experienced this pressure firsthand.

“The Israeli Ministry of Education is implementing a deliberate policy to force out the students and staff,” Suheir explained. “Withholding financial allocations has destabilised the educational process, and the psychological pressure on students has negatively impacted their behaviour and performance.”

To mitigate these challenges, the school offers counselling services to help students manage their emotions and maintain stability. 

Suheir added, “We reject the closure decision and hope the court will be fair. But even if the closure is enforced, we will not surrender.”

Community support and resistance

Parents of students share this spirit.

Mohammed Abu Madi, a member of the parents' association, called the decision to close the schools “an educational crime against Jerusalem students.”

“My older children graduated from this school, and two others are still here. Al Furqan is not just a school; it's their second home,” he said. “There is no alternative that provides the same quality of education, discipline, and national values.”

Mohammed also stressed that the parents' association fully supports the school and will not accept the closure. He called on the local community and education rights institutions to take a stronger stance.

“The Israeli occupation is trying to suffocate Palestinian education in Jerusalem through deliberate ‘legal’ and economic policies,” he said.

Although the Palestinian Ministry of Education can challenge the closure in court, the Israeli occupation has preemptively fortified its legal position by tying school licensing to approval from the Israeli Ministry of Education.

According to Medhat, the Jerusalem governorate can only provide limited support, offering legal consultations to schools and advising them not to comply with unjust decisions.

“We also call on parents to help keep the schools open by contributing funds, alongside the governorate's financial and logistical support,” Medhat said.

The governorate also supports alternative schools funded by public endowments and private initiatives to accommodate as many students as possible, thwarting the occupation's plans to integrate Palestinian students into Israeli municipal schools.

Livelihoods jeopardised 

Ahmed Al-Safadi, an education inspector and member of the National Action Committee in Jerusalem, explained that Al Furqan's case is not an isolated incident but rather a reflection of the Israeli occupation's ongoing policy towards Palestinian education in Jerusalem.

“Al Furqan, Al-Iman, Ibrahimi schools, and all Palestinian schools are targeted,” he said.

Ahmed pointed out that Al Furqan’s situation is particularly complex due to the school’s long history, having been active for over 30 years. This requires collective action from the local community and civil institutions.

“Closing the school doesn’t just mean the absence of education; it means social disintegration and the destruction of Palestinian national consciousness,” he stated. “If the school is shut down, students will have limited options, and the livelihoods of dozens of teachers will be jeopardised.”

Yet, Ahmed argued, the real motive behind the closure is to impose an Israeli curriculum that would replace the current Palestinian one.

A report by the Palestinian NGO Miftah revealed that in 2020–2021, 89,795 Palestinians attended 238 schools in East Jerusalem. Of these, 141 schools (59.3%) taught the Palestinian curriculum, while 91 schools (38.3%) were run by the Israeli Ministry of Education and taught the Israeli curriculum.

“This is not just a battle over a school building; it’s about the nation’s consciousness and identity,” said Ahmed.

That being said, Ahmed points out that Palestinian and Israeli curricula differ significantly in how they approach issues of identity and historical narrative.

“The Palestinian curriculum seeks to strengthen national identity and a sense of belonging through teaching Palestinian history, national rights, the Arabic language, and peaceful resistance,” he explained.

In contrast, he adds that the Israeli curriculum — particularly the one imposed on Palestinian schools in Jerusalem and within the Green Line (the internationally recognised border separating pre-1967 Israel from the Occupied Palestinian Territories) — works to erase Palestinian identity. It does so by obscuring the Palestinian narrative and promoting a distorted version of events that legitimises the occupation and its policies.

Ahmed described how Israeli curricula aim to normalise Israeli culture by introducing Israeli symbols, marginalising Palestinian ones, and even changing the names of cities and landmarks.

“They even tried to erase the Palestinian national anthem and replace terms like ‘Nakba’ and ‘occupation’ with neutral or Zionist terminology, which was met with widespread rejection from teachers and parents.”

Dareen Ghazawi is a Jerusalem-based reporter, photographer and video journalist

This piece was published in collaboration with Egab