Jerusalem: A Christian school official in occupied East Jerusalem said Tuesday that a strike by Palestinian private schools, including Christian schools, will continue as around 40% of teachers and staff remain without Israeli permits to enter the city. Richard Zananiri, director-general of Al-Mutran School in East Jerusalem, told Anadolu that Israeli authorities issued some permits late Monday night, but not all of them.

According to Anadolu Agency, private schools had taken a unified position to continue the strike until all teachers and staff receive permits, stressing that schools could not operate normally while part of their staff remained unable to reach their workplaces. Zananiri described Israel's failure to issue entry permits to teachers as a 'purely political measure' aimed at separating the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem.

'Students, parents and teachers had been waiting for the start of the new school year, including the return of school movement, the ringing of the bell and the morning lineup, but the lack of permits prevented that,' Zananiri said. He noted that this permit issue is not new, citing a similar problem last December that led to a school strike.

Zananiri explained that teachers coming from the occupied West Bank need permits to cross Israeli checkpoints and enter Jerusalem, describing the restrictions as 'a form of pressure on us to stop relying on teachers from the West Bank.' He emphasized that these teachers are integral to Jerusalem's education system, especially amid shortages in some specializations, with around 25% to 30% of teachers at Al-Mutran School coming from the occupied West Bank.

He also highlighted that Jerusalem schools serve approximately 120,000 students. Earlier Tuesday, private schools in occupied East Jerusalem, including Christian schools, began a strike as the new academic year started, protesting Israeli restrictions on teachers and staff living in the West Bank.

Israel requires Palestinians in the occupied West Bank to obtain special permits to enter occupied East Jerusalem, including for work, education, medical treatment, and worship. Jerusalem's schools fall into three main categories: private schools, most of which are Christian; schools run by the Islamic Waqf Department; and schools affiliated with the Israeli municipality and Education Ministry.

In January 2026, the Knesset passed a law banning the employment of teachers who obtained their academic degrees from institutions affiliated with the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli education system. According to a previous report by Haaretz, the law directly affects the availability of teachers in occupied East Jerusalem, where around 6,700 teachers work in the Arab education system, at least 60% of whom hold bachelor's degrees from Palestinian academic institutions.