Legislation recently passed by the Knesset is intended to dismantle the Palestinian education system in occupied East Jerusalem. On Tuesday, July 19th, 2026, Zvi Sukkot, Chairman of the Knesset’s Education Committee and member of the far-right Religious Zionist Party, made a surprise visit to a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem. During this visit, he smashed the school’s entrance sign because it displayed a Palestinian flag and publicly pledged to shut down the school.

This act was more than a political stunt ahead of Israel’s October 2026 elections; it symbolized a broader state campaign targeting Palestinian education in the annexed area. Proponents of the new legislation have openly stated their goal of advancing the “Israelisation” of the educational system and its students, even if it limits access to education.

Additionally, a law passed in November 2024, known as the “Silencing Law,” grants the Israeli Ministry of Education full discretion to suspend or dismiss teachers through a fast-track administrative process. During early 2024 discussions in the Education Committee, a Likud MK emphasized the importance of Arab students in East Jerusalem becoming Zionists, stating, “If I was an Arab from East Jerusalem, the first thing I would be is a Zionist.”

Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – is currently challenging these laws before the Israeli Supreme Court. Pending petitions include challenges against the ban on Palestinian university graduates, the Silencing Law targeting teachers’ political expression, and laws affecting the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

These developments highlight escalating tensions over education rights in East Jerusalem amid ongoing political struggles.

Sources