UN Experts: Destruction of education system “scholasticide” in Gaza

A group of UN experts on Thursday raised "serious" alarm over the systemic destruction of the Palestinian education system in Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Entity. "With more than 80 per cent of Gaza's schools damaged or destroyed it is reasonable to ask whether there is a deliberate effort to comprehensively destroy the Palestinian education system an action known as 'scholasticide'," the experts said in a joint statement. The experts noted that more than 5,479 students 261 teachers and 95 university professors have been killed in Gaza and over 7,819 students and 756 teachers have been injured -- with numbers growing each day since the 7th of October. They added that at least 60 percent of educational facilities including 13 public libraries have been damaged or destroyed and at least 625,000 students have no access to education. The experts stated that UN schools sheltering forcibly displaced civilians are being bombed including in Israeli military-designated "safe zones," adding that these attacks are deliberated and they present a systematic pattern of violence aimed at dismantling the very foundation of Palestinian society. "The persistent callous attacks on educational infrastructure in Gaza have a devastating long-term impact on the fundamental rights of people to learn and freely express themselves depriving yet another generation of Palestinians of their future," the experts said. "Students with international scholarships are being prevented from attending university abroad," they added. The experts said they were equally appalled by the annihilation of the cultural sector in Gaza through the destruction 195-heritage sites 227 mosques and three churches including the Central Archives of Gaza, which contained 150 years of history. "The foundations of Palestinian society are being reduced to rubble and their history is being erased," they said. The experts called on the Israeli occupation Entity to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice on 26 January. T hey also reiterated their call for the international community to send a clear message of accountability for these violations including by committing to fund and rebuild the education system. The statement was issued by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education Farida Shaheed and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory Francesca Albanese among other experts. Source: Kuwait News Agency