The Council of Deans of Student Affairs in Palestinian Higher Education Institutions strongly condemns the brutal assaults carried out by the Israeli occupation forces on Palestinian universities and institutions of higher education. These attacks have included storming university campuses, assaulting students and academics, and destroying educational infrastructure – the most recent being the attack on Al-Quds University and the assault on its students and staff, in blatant violation of all international laws and conventions that prohibit targeting academic institutions and protect the right to education.
This ongoing aggression constitutes a flagrant violation of the sanctity of Palestinian universities and a direct attack on the fundamental right to education, as guaranteed under international law, including the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These crimes are part of a systematic policy aimed at erasing Palestinian national identity and obstructing the path of knowledge and progress.
In this context, we strongly condemn the widespread destruction inflicted upon higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression. Universities have been bombed and completely destroyed, depriving thousands of students of their right to continue their education – a crime that amounts to gross human rights violations and war crimes.
We call upon the international community, human rights organizations, UNESCO, and all global academic institutions to uphold their moral and legal responsibilities regarding these crimes. We urge them to hold the Israeli occupation accountable, compel it to halt its violations, and ensure the protection of Palestinian educational institutions as centers of learning and knowledge that must not be targeted under any circumstances.
Council of Deans of Student Affairs in Palestinian Higher Education Institutions