Hamas: “Israel” destroys 90% of Gaza’s schools
GAZA, Sept. 08 (YPA) -The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Tuesday accused “Israel” of launching a “systematic and comprehensive war” against the Palestinian education system, stressing that such actions will not succeed in “breaking the will of the people or erasing their deeply rooted national identity.”
In a press statement, the movement said that for the third consecutive year, the academic year begins in the West Bank and occupied East Quds (Jerusalem) without the participation of the Gaza Strip, which has been facing, for over 22 months, a campaign of genocide, destruction, starvation, and forced displacement.
Hamas accused the Israeli occupation military of deliberately targeting educational institutions in the Strip, claiming that more than 90% of school and university buildings have been destroyed.
More than 19,000 students have been killed and over 29,000 injured, according to the statement. In addition, over 1,000 teachers and administrative staff were killed, with around 5,000 others wounded. The death toll also includes more than 230 academics, while over 1,420 have been injured.
Hamas warned that these policies constitute “a blatant violation of international law,” calling on the international community to assume its legal, moral, and humanitarian responsibilities to stop the “systematic crimes against education.”
The statement also noted that the occupation has intensified its efforts in occupied Jerusalem to impose the “Israelization” of educational curricula and target educational institutions, describing it as an attempt to erase the city’s Palestinian identity.
Hamas affirmed that “the occupation’s attempts to impose a policy of ignorance and brainwashing will fail in the face of the Palestinian people’s resilience,” praising the efforts of teachers, students, and educational institutions in confronting the aggression.
The statement also warned that in East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities have escalated efforts to impose the “Israelization” of the Palestinian curriculum and target educational institutions in the city, calling it an attempt to erase the Palestinian identity of Jerusalem.
The movement renewed its call to the international community and academic institutions worldwide to take urgent steps to hold Israel accountable and to strengthen the academic boycott of Israeli institutions allegedly “involved in the crimes.”
The movement renewed its call for international academic bodies and global civil society organizations to take urgent action against what it termed Israeli violations, including by enforcing academic boycotts on institutions “complicit in these crimes.”
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