Effective Mechanisms for Inclusive Educational and Health Services for Palestinians in East Jerusalem
The education and healthcare systems in East Jerusalem, particularly within the Palestinian communities reaching around 370 thousand Palestinians, face significant challenges, as a result of ongoing Israeli policies aimed at controlling the city, explored in the background paper discussing this topic. Palestinian schools face chronic underfunding and the risk of erasing Palestinian identity due to the Israeli government’s educational policies, which seek to integrate East Jerusalem schools into the framework of the Israeli occupation state through the promotion of Israeli curricula, unequal allocation of resources, and increased school dropout rates among Palestinian students.
Additionally, hospitals and health facilities in East Jerusalem, face growing challenges related to the provision of health services to Jerusalemites and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Health facilities and professionals are under extreme strain due to underfunding, violence, and restricted access to essential services. All these challenges were exacerbated by the war, which sheds the light on the urgent need for a comprehensive approach for both sectors, that takes into consideration the cultural identity of the Palestinians and addresses systemic discrimination and inequality.