AMMAN — Israeli occupation authorities' attempts to force the Israeli curriculum on East Jerusalem students represent a dangerous escalation in their efforts to Judaise the city and erase its Arab-Palestinian identity, Secretary-General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs (RCJA) Abdullah Kanaan said on Wednesday.

 

Kanaan highlighted reports that some 45,000 Palestinian students in East Jerusalem, particularly those entering the first and seventh grades, are being subjected to the Israeli curriculum starting this academic year, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

 

Kanaan described the move as a new phase of Israelisation that systematically targets Palestinian students' national memory and awareness.

 

Turning education into a tool to enforce the occupation's narrative and alter students' identity constitutes a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights and international law, which obliges the occupying power to respect the culture, identity, and lives of the population under occupation, he added.

 

The RCJA secretary-general stressed that coercing schools, parents, and administrators into accepting the Israeli curriculum is not a passing administrative measure, but part of a broader project aimed at severing Jerusalemite youth from their history and national identity.

 

Education in Jerusalem remains a central front in preserving the city's identity, Kanaan noted, asserting that targeting curricula, language, and historical narrative directly undermines the Palestinian presence in the holy city.

 

He stressed that Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, will continue to uphold its historical responsibilities towards Jerusalem and its holy sites under the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

 

The secretary-general reiterated the Kingdom’s commitment to defending the city's historical and legal status quo and countering all measures aimed at altering its Arab character until the Palestinian people achieve their legitimate rights to establish an independent state on their national soil, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

 

He praised the resilience of educational institutions, parents, and teachers in Jerusalem who refuse Israelisation policies, hailing their commitment to providing a national education that safeguards students' language, history, and heritage.

 

Expressing solidarity with private schools in Jerusalem facing operational suspensions due to Israeli authorities withholding entry permits for teachers and staff, Kanaan urged the international community and human rights organisations to fulfil their legal and moral duties by taking immediate action to halt Israeli measures against Jerusalem's education sector.

 

Kanaan reiterated that East Jerusalem remains occupied Palestinian territory and that all Israeli measures aimed at altering its legal, historical, and cultural reality are null and void.