Beirut Hammoud
The New Ara / February 5, 2026
Arabic-speaking Israeli soldiers will pilot an emergency awareness program in East Jerusalem Palestinian schools.
Doha – Israeli army reservists assigned to the Home Front Command, specifically those described as “Arabic-speaking Home Front spokespersons”, have begun implementing a new project, reportedly “educational and awareness-focused”, in several Palestinian schools in eastern Jerusalem, Israel Hayom reported today, Wednesday.
If the project is carried out as planned, which the army has not yet officially announced to the media, the Arabic-speaking soldiers, wearing Israeli army uniforms, will enter a school designated by the Jerusalem municipality and the army as a pilot site. There, the program’s initial trial will be implemented after preparatory visits by various agencies in the area.
The first experiment is expected to take place at the pilot school, where soldiers will lead a new educational programme focusing on what is claimed to be “raising awareness” of how to act and protect oneself in emergencies. This is based on assessments suggesting a “significant gap” in students’ knowledge in East Jerusalem.
The Home Front Command said it also considered “the sensitivity of Palestinian residents” toward Israeli forces entering Palestinian schools, and the army plans to “coordinate” educational content with parents’ committees. According to the same source, “Palestinian parents want to ensure that the lessons taught to their children about emergency procedures do not involve political issues.”
What stands out is the insistence on involving the Home Front Command and soldiers in Israeli army uniforms to implement the project in Palestinian schools.
Even in Israeli state schools in pre-1948 areas that enrol only Arab students, similar awareness programmes are usually led by teachers, most of them also Arab. Even during Home Front exercises, soldiers rarely participate in drills inside schools. Teachers receive training in Home Front frameworks outside the school and apply them to students during emergency exercises, whether for war, natural disasters, or fires.
The newspaper cited one soldier involved in the project saying, “We recognise that difficult questions may be asked, such as why the uniform has the Israeli flag and not the Palestinian flag. We try to be formal and know how to answer briefly that we represent the Israeli army. Our goal is to show that every question is legitimate, especially for a population that mostly sees the army in a negative context.”
Although this is not the first time the Home Front Command has been present in East Jerusalem, discussions continue on the “best way” for teams to enter schools, particularly the first pilot school.
One soldier involved said, “We are close to finalising the arrangements. If everything goes as planned, we expect to enter East Jerusalem around May. At this stage, we determine the appropriate method and scope of entry and also study the question of providing security for the teams.”
Recently, the Home Front Command has sought to increase its presence in Arab villages and towns inside Israel and has already begun cooperating with several official bodies in certain towns.
As part of its efforts to “strengthen its presence”, the command also plans to be present in Palestinian Bedouin villages and cities in the Negev, most of which lack shelters and protective facilities. This has previously put residents’ lives at risk due to deliberate neglect by Israeli authorities.
In line with these plans, the command held a conference in December 2024 on protection, attended by former commander Major General Rafi Milo.
‘Humanising’ Israeli soldiers
The newspaper reported that soldiers participating in the pilot programme said that “currently, in Bedouin communities, there are girls serving in national service (a voluntary service for Arabs exempt from compulsory military service, seen as a dangerous project aiming to ‘Israelise’ Palestinian youth).”
According to the soldiers, “Bedouin women in national service provide guidance in schools after receiving certain training from us. Nevertheless, the effect is not the same.”
They further said that “when children see a soldier in uniform explaining what to do when an alert siren sounds, it has a greater impact”, signalling the aim of “humanising” Israeli soldiers and making their presence seem natural outside the context of being key symbols of the occupation, who commit war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.
At this point, the Arabic-speaking Home Front soldiers hope to effect greater change.
“Ultimately, there are no fortified rooms in these areas, and we make adjustments, so the instructions are more precise. If a child goes home and, in the moment of truth (when alert sirens sound for rockets or natural disasters), tells their parent to stay in the nearest protected space for ten minutes, we gain an entire family with one action,” claimed a soldier.
Israeli authorities, as the official body responsible for managing residents’ lives, are expected to provide shelters and protection, as they do in Jewish-majority cities and illegal settlements.
Soldiers involved in the project also expressed concern over funding, claiming that the Home Front Command does not allocate sufficient budgets for awareness programmes in Arab areas, which could create difficulties in implementation.
Nevertheless, Israeli army officials told Israel Hayom that “the project is fully funded.”
Beirut Hammoud is a Palestinian journalist based in Qatar, working for the Arabic edition of The New Arab, Al-Araby al-Jadeed