Fear and Anxiety Permeate Palestinian Life in Jerusalem

Dr. Iyad Hallak, professor of psychology at Al-Quds University and an individual and family psychotherapist, said that fear and anxiety form a significant part of the experience of young Palestinians, be they male or female.6 He cautioned that it is important not to generalize the experience to all young Jerusalemites. “The sources of anxiety for young Jerusalemites are not solely political,” he said. “The anxieties intersect with personal security, economic conditions, job opportunities, education, the future, and how young people relate to the city and to their identity.”

Hallak told Jerusalem Story that young people in Jerusalem live in a situation that can be described as constant stress or trauma, meaning that “fear does not necessarily result from a single incident but from the feeling that a threat can appear in daily life at any moment.”

He said fear and anxiety arise from several sources, starting with what he describes as fear of the security and political environment. “This constant vigilance may show up as monitoring one’s surroundings, being cautious when passing security barriers or checkpoints, thinking about the possibility of arrest, violence, or confrontation, and avoiding certain places or times.”

Hallak cited studies that evaluate and delve into “adaptive hypervigilance” in young people, meaning they become highly attentive to risks as a way to protect themselves.

He said fear can also shift from being related to a specific event to a constant expectation that something bad may happen: “What will happen if I go out? Will I be arrested? Will something happen to a family member if I’m arrested? What if the political situation escalates?”

Hallak said that economic conditions add another layer of uncertainty. Security barriers, restrictions on movement and access to workplaces, and concerns about personal safety affect Jerusalemites’ ability to reach their jobs and earn a living. He said young Jerusalemites ask themselves daily: “Will I be safe today? Will I find a job? Will I be able to build a future? Will I be able to get married and start a family? Will I be able to continue my work or studies? Will settlers attack me?”

He said economic anxiety becomes directly linked to political and security concerns. “Young men may experience fears more strongly around checkpoints, arrests, security friction, work, and transportation in addition to feeling responsible for protecting the family or securing income,” Hallak said. Furthermore, he stated that young women may experience anxiety differently, including fear for family members, fear while moving in public spaces, and anxiety about the future of their academic, professional, and family lives. He added that exposure to political violence is linked to both internal and external psychological symptoms in both sexes, but girls reported higher levels of internal symptoms after exposure, including anxiety-related symptoms, withdrawal, and emotional problems.

He said the effects can appear across several levels: psychologically, through anxiety, tension, fear, sadness, fatigue, and feeling incapacitated or a loss of control; behaviorally, through avoidance of specific places or positions, social withdrawal, excessive caution, or sometimes impulsive and angry behavior; academically and professionally, through a lack of focus, difficulty planning for the future, or a feeling that effort in academics or work does not guarantee a stable future; socially, through increased tension within the family or among friends.

The psychology professor said fear sometimes is accompanied by a total rejection or lack of desire to engage in even thinking about the future because of declining optimism. Hallak argues that people feeling like the future is hard to predict can be one of the most dangerous psychological effects of political violence. He said a young person can become afraid of the present and feel helpless when imagining a clear path ahead for their life.

Hallak concluded by saying that the current psychological viewpoint indicates that, in Jerusalem specifically, there is repression of feelings, a sense of helplessness, and normalization of danger, meaning that some young people may reach a stage where fear of extraordinary events is no longer exceptional but a normal part of daily life.

He said there is another important aspect to consider: Jerusalem’s youth should not only be viewed as victims of fear. “They are also a symbol of resilience and adaptability, and they rely on education, family, friends, faith, finding meaning in life. They cling to their national identity and belonging as way to regain a sense of control and the ability to persevere.”

Jerusalem activist and researcher Malek Zabalh said that he observes a large segment of Palestinian Jerusalemites living in a state of constant anxiety about their future.7 He told Jerusalem Story that they worry about “the safety of their families and their ability to remain in their city.” He said this anxiety has been intensified by the accumulation of political, economic, and security pressures, which have been mounting since the start of the Unity Intifada in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021 and have reshaped Jerusalemites’ relationship with their city and daily lives.

Malek said this anxiety appears in different ways: employees fear for their jobs; merchants fear for their livelihoods; the students fear for their futures; and parents fear for their children’s safety and family cohesion. “With the continuation of these pressures, people have become more mindful of their language, behavior, and public presence, carefully considering whether to express their fears or participate in activities that invigorate the city’s economic, social, and cultural life, for fear of persecution, loss, or depletion.”

He describes this mechanism as “intelligent fear,” saying it guides individuals to modify choices and curtail movements without direct repression. He said the nearly empty markets, decline in activity in the Old City, weakened purchasing power of Palestinian Jerusalemites, and reduced participation in public spaces reflect a social mood burdened by exhaustion. He adds that the decline in the vibrancy of holidays indicates the crisis is affecting the collective sense of life. Additionally, the absence of a Palestinian Jerusalemite authority capable of providing protection and reassurance deepens the feeling people have that they are forced to face their burdens alone.

Malek said the Palestinian Jerusalemite should not be reduced to a fearful or exhausted person, adding that Jerusalemites continue to work, learn, raise their children, and maintain their connection to the city, even though this resilience requires immense psychological strength. He said the danger lies in the transformation of fear from a response to an exceptional event to a daily mindset whereby individuals become accustomed to constantly monitoring their actions and limiting their own expression and participation. Malek explains that if this happens, then Jerusalemites may remain physically present in the city, but their psychological, social, and spiritual presence will gradually diminish. He said the real challenge is in protecting their right to a normal life in their city and building social, psychological, and economic support networks that restore a sense of security, enable active participation in revitalizing the city, and provide them with the ability to plan for their family’s future in Jerusalem.

According to Dimitri Diliani, president of the National Christian Coalition in the Holy Land, this anxiety and fear is reflected in the high rate of Palestinian emigration from Jerusalem, either to parts of the West Bank not under direct Israeli control or abroad, particularly among Christians.8 Dimitri tells Jerusalem Story that anxiety is one of the main drivers of the decline of the long-standing Palestinian Christian presence in East Jerusalem: “It stems from the daily reality of the occupation and its crimes and the resulting fragility of rights, including the housing crisis, restrictions on family reunification, limited job opportunities, and attacks on clergy and holy sites.”

Dimitri said Jerusalemite families think about where their children will live after marriage, whether they can work and start families within the city. He said that over time, leaving has become an option for a growing number of young people.

The figures, he said, show the scale of the problem. The 1922 Palestinian census recorded 14,699 Christians in Jerusalem out of a total population of 62,578, representing 23.5 percent.9 He said data from the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research indicates that a century later, in 2021, there were approximately 16,400 (Arab and non-Arab) Christians out of a total population of 980,200 in Jerusalem, or 1.7 percent.10 While the demographics of 1922 Palestine are much different from today’s demographics, the overall trend reveals a sharp decline in the population of Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem, he said.

Dimitri tells Jerusalem Story that a strong sense of insecurity is a major factor driving emigration. A December 2024 survey by the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue found that 36 percent of Christians under the age of 30 considered leaving the country, with 77 percent citing escalating violence within the country and a deteriorating political and social climate as primary reasons.11 He said another survey, by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, placed economic hardship at the forefront of motivations (see Economy and Finance), in addition to the need for security and stability amid checkpoints, settler violence, and land confiscation.12

Dimitri said that in Jerusalem, Palestinian Christians experience the same pressures as the broader Palestinian people, including attacks tied to national and religious identity and on holy sites. He said the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked—Center for the Defence of the Individual documented the revocation of the residency permits for 14,929 Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem between 1967 and 2024,13 noting that the figure represents the entire Palestinian community in the city and reveals the precarious legal status of residents (see Precarious, Not Permanent: The Status Held by Palestinian Jerusalemites, [Pt. 1 and Pt. 2]) across different segments of society.14 He also referenced the Religious Freedom Data Center, explaining that it monitored attacks and harassment targeting clergy, nuns, churches, and Christian symbols during the second quarter of 2026 and found most of the incidents were concentrated in East Jerusalem where the Christians in the city are clustered, particularly in the Old City.15

This shows how Christian Palestinians experience what other Palestinians experience under occupation but are also under attack for being Christian. He said every Palestinian Christian family that emigrates from Jerusalem leaves a hole in the city’s Palestinian fabric, because the continued presence of Palestinian Christians in Jerusalem is essential to the city’s authentic and native identity.

All in all, Palestinians as whole, regardless of their religion, are sharing that they are facing the same reality: Jerusalem, which should be “a holy city” and “a city of peace,” is instead morphing into a nearly unlivable city of fear, tension, and trauma for them.