The committee said in a statement that Israeli authorities had refused to issue or renew entry permits for a number of teachers and staff coming from the West Bank, preventing them from reaching their schools.
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She added that these measures prompted Christian educational institutions to declare an open-ended strike that began on Tuesday and is still ongoing, threatening to disrupt the 2026/2027 academic year.
She argued that preventing teachers and staff from accessing their workplaces "deprives children of their basic right to education."
The committee warned that the Israeli measures are part of a "broader escalation of restrictions on Palestinian education in Jerusalem".
She pointed to the imposition of the Israeli curriculum on Palestinian schools, and to a law passed by the Knesset in January 2026 regarding the employment of graduates of Palestinian higher education institutions.
The committee considered that these policies "affect the identity of Jerusalem" and contradict international law and United Nations resolutions, which affirm that East Jerusalem is occupied territory, as well as the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
She stressed that "education is a right, not a privilege," and that Christian educational institutions are part of the history of Jerusalem and the presence of the Church there, and have served generations of Palestinian Christians and Muslims.
The committee called on the churches of the world to use their position and international relations to demand the issuance and renewal of permits for affected staff, and to ensure the reopening of schools and the safe return of teachers and students to their classrooms.
She also called for continued support for educational and church institutions in Jerusalem, and for international action to stop what she described as "ongoing Israeli violations."
Israel requires Palestinians living in the West Bank to obtain special permits to enter occupied East Jerusalem, including for purposes of work, education, medical treatment and worship.
In January 2026, the Knesset passed a law prohibiting the employment of teachers who obtained their academic degrees from Palestinian Authority institutions in the Israeli education system.
According to a previous report by Haaretz, the law particularly affects the Arab education system in East Jerusalem, which employs about 6,700 teachers, 60 percent of whom hold at least a bachelor’s degree from Palestinian academic institutions.
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