Israel’s war on Palestinian political life in Jerusalem

While the world is focused on global economic issues and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Israel’s recent harsh policies in East Jerusalem mark an alarming new chapter in a long-standing campaign to eliminate any form of organized Palestinian political or civic presence in the city.

Under the pretext of security, Israel has persistently targeted and dismantled institutions that serve as pillars of Palestinian society, be they unions, schools, cultural centers or political offices.

In the latest examples of this, Israeli authorities this week presented orders to shut down six UN-run schools by May 8, and ordered the immediate closure of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions.

This pattern is not new. For years, and especially since the signing in 1993 of the Palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles, also referred to as the Oslo Accords, Israel has worked to dismantle Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem. They began with closing the historic Orient House, the Chamber of Commerce, the Arab Higher Council for Tourism, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, and the Palestinian Center for Social Research.

Such actions reveal an apartheid reality. Despite claiming East Jerusalem as part of its “unified capital,” Israel continues to act in ways that starkly contradict its self-declared identity as a democratic state. By criminalizing Palestinian civic engagement and political expression, it exposes the discriminatory foundations and strategy of Jewish supremacy in areas under Israeli civilian, as well as military, control.

The raid on the trade union office on April 9 was carried out with characteristic force. Israeli officers stormed the premises, arrested union officials and issued an immediate closure order. This move follows a growing trend of targeting Palestinian institutions under the guise of maintaining order or preventing “incitement.”

Israeli authorities are redrawing the city not only physically, but socially and spiritually.

Daoud Kuttab

But the true motive is plain to see: political erasure. The goal is to delegitimize any Palestinian institutional presence in Jerusalem, thus severing the city’s Palestinian residents from their national identity and collective memory.

Perhaps even more concerning is the fact that these actions are taking place not in the West Bank or Gaza, but within the municipal boundaries of what Israel unilaterally annexed. In doing so, Israeli authorities contradict their own legal and political frameworks. By failing to ensure freedom of association, political expression and union activity, Israel proves that it is not what it claims to be: the so-called only democracy in the Middle East. Instead, what we see is the use of authoritarian tools — raids, closures and arrests — against those who dare to organize or represent Palestinian interests in the city.

One of the most glaring examples of this authoritarian drift was the incident that occurred just a day before the raid on the union office. On April 8, Israeli forces and Jerusalem municipality officials entered six UNRWA-run schools in East Jerusalem and issued closure orders effective within 30 days.

These schools serve hundreds of Palestinian refugee children and are protected under the legal frameworks that govern UN installations. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees denounced the move as a violation of the privileges and immunities it is granted under international law.

Beyond the legal breach, however, the closures directly threaten Palestinian children’s right to education, yet another pillar of communal life that is being targeted under the current escalation.

This is not just about buildings or institutions, it is about the dismantling of an entire social fabric. Civil society organizations, trade unions, educational bodies and religious institutions are the lifeblood of any community. In Jerusalem, their survival is essential not only for daily life, but to maintain a Palestinian presence and identity in a city that continues to face systematic demographic and political reshaping.

The consequences are becoming more visible year by year. For example, figures published by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf Department, which is overseen by Jordan, reveal a dramatic decline in the number of worshippers who attended Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan this year.

On the final Friday of the holy month in 2022, 160,000 people worshipped at the mosque. This fell to 130,000 in 2023, and 120,000 in 2024. This year, in Islam’s third-holiest city, a mere 75,000 worshippers attended the final Ramadan Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa. On the 27th night of Ramadan, when worshipers were seeking Laylat Al-Qadr (The Night of Power), which is one of the most important nights in Islam, attendance dropped almost by half from 300,000 in 2022 to just 180,000 in 2025.

This is no coincidence. The decline is directly linked to Israeli-imposed restrictions. Measures such as arbitrary quotas, age limitations and checkpoint closures prevent Palestinians in the West Bank and surrounding areas from accessing the holy sites. Men under the age of 55 are barred from the mosque, and even the limited groups who are allowed to enter must not exceed a quota of 10,000 worshippers from outside of Jerusalem. In effect, the faithful are locked out of their own sacred mosque during the holiest days of the year.

These measures are not simply about security, they are about sovereignty, about who belongs in Jerusalem and who does not. By stripping away Palestinian institutions, silencing political voices and preventing cultural and religious gatherings, Israeli authorities are redrawing the city not only physically, but socially and spiritually.

Yet in the face of all this, the resilience of the Palestinian community in Jerusalem remains strong. Despite the closures and restrictions, worshippers continue to flock to Al-Aqsa Mosque. Teachers, trade unionists and community organizers persist in their work, often at great personal risk. Their steadfastness is a reminder that no administrative order or military raid can fully erase the connection of a people to their land, their identity and their future.

If Israel truly seeks peace and coexistence, it must begin by recognizing the rights of Palestinians to exist, organize and thrive. That includes respect for international law, the protection of educational and religious institutions, and allowing Palestinians the freedom to engage in normal political and civil life.

The international community, in particular Israel’s allies, must also take note: Silence in the face of these violations is complicity. As Israel continues to claim the mantle of democracy, its actions in East Jerusalem tell another story, one of exclusion, repression and systematic erasure.

• Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of “State of Palestine NOW: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace to the Middle East.” X: @daoudkuttab