Israeli occupation authorities have not granted renewals of work and movement permits to more than 70 teachers and administrators working in Christian schools in occupied East Jerusalem, many of which were founded in the 19th century.
“For hundreds of years, the Christian schools in Jerusalem have carried out a deeply rooted educational and humanitarian mission and have constituted an integral part of the city’s identity and its cultural and social fabric”, the statement said.
The Christian schools were preparing for the opening of the new 2026–2027 academic year for last month; to receive more than 8400 students.
“Unfortunately,” statement said, the General Secretariat was “surprised, once again, by the non-renewal of entry permits for more than 70 teachers and employees from our educational, administrative, and support staff”.
This occurred suddenly and without prior notice, preventing them from reaching their schools and directly affecting the schools’ readiness for the opening of the academic year.
The majority of teachers and administrators denied work and movement permits reside in the West Bank, which Israel occupied, including East Jerusalem, in 1967.
In May, Former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, said that targeting Christians in Palestine is primarily linked to the fact that they are Palestinians.
Lynk added that the Israeli government seeks to erase Palestinians, including Christians, while warning of an escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian Christians.
Lynk noted that the investigation into the assault on a nun in Jerusalem only began after international pressure, adding that settlers and Israeli occupation forces have intensified their attacks on Palestinian Christian communities, places of worship, and villages in recent years, according to the vast majority of documented human rights reports on the issue.
He further explained that Jerusalem witnessed this year, for the first time in centuries, the prevention of the performance of one of the Christian community’s religious rituals.
Lynk said this comes within the framework of Israel’s efforts to deepen its occupation of Palestinian territories amid the absence of international accountability and impunity.
Palestinians in the West Bank suffer from suffocating restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation army, which limits their movement through more than a thousand security checkpoints, disrupting their access to work, villages, and homes.
Violence by Israeli settlers and the occupation army against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has escalated since the start of the Israeli war on Gaza on 7 October 2023.
To date, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, tens of thousands have been wounded, hundreds of homes have been demolished, olive trees have been uprooted or farmers have been prevented from harvesting their crops, and Bedouin and pastoral communities have been expelled from their lands to build settlements on these stolen lands.
According to international law, the United Nations, and the majority of the world's countries, with the exception of the United States, Israeli settlements are illegal.
The absence of this large number of staff members affects various aspects of school operations, including educational, administrative, and health services, in addition to cleaning services and security and safety procedures.
“This makes it impossible to guarantee a safe and stable start for our students," the statement said.
“The recurrence of such measures undermines the stability of our schools, hinders their ability to fulfill their mission, and negatively affects students, their families, educational staff, and society as a whole."
Following consultation and coordination with the relevant authorities, representatives of parents, and Jerusalem schools, “it has been decided to suspend school attendance in the schools of the city of Jerusalem beginning Tuesday morning, 1 September 2026, until the necessary permits for teachers and staff are reissued and renewed, thereby ensuring that the educational process can proceed safely and properly”.
The General Secretariat reaffirm “full commitment to our students’ right to education, we also emphasize the importance of the educational mission carried by our schools, which constitutes an essential part of our identity, culture, and presence in the city of Jerusalem, raising generations founded on knowledge, values, belonging, and responsibility”.
In conclusion of the statement General Secretariat said “We pray and hope that this crisis will be resolved as quickly as possible, that such measures will cease and not recur in the future, thereby preserving the stability of our educational institutions, guaranteeing students’ right to regular and safe education, and enabling our schools to continue their educational and humanitarian mission”.
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