Graduation celebrations in Bethlehem occur alongside growing anxiety about employment prospects. A business student who expected her degree to lead to work and stability now feels the plan slipping away as reality becomes harsher. Unemployment among young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank with at least a diploma is reported at nearly 40 percent. Overall unemployment rose sharply after October 2023, reaching a peak of 35.2 percent in early 2024 and remaining high by the end of 2025. Israel indefinitely froze work permits for 115,000 West Bank Palestinians during the war on Gaza, with only a small number renewed. Military raids and road closures further disrupt daily life and commuting.
"Amid war, economic collapse and shrinking opportunities in the occupied West Bank, many graduates are beginning to question what their degrees are worth."
"Nearly 40 percent of young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank holding at least a diploma are unemployed, according to figures cited by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS). Overall, unemployment has more than doubled since October 2023, peaking at 35.2 percent in early 2024 and sitting at 27.5 percent by the end of 2025."
"As it started its genocidal war on Gaza, Israel also indefinitely froze work permits for 115,000 Palestinians from the West Bank who worked in the country. Only a few of those permits have since been renewed, compounding the unemployment crisis in the West Bank."
"We're seeing people across the world getting jobs and living their best life while we're stuck, says Siwar's classmate Christy Abu Mahour, 21. We don't get the same options as everyone else. For these students, reaching graduation takes more than academic perseverance."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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