Scholasticide - Education Under Apartheid and Genocide in Palestine
It’s been over a year of genocide in Gaza, and bombs are just one of the many ways people are killed. Palestinians have to deal with starvation, preventable diseases, Israeli raids, to name a few. Amidst all this, Palestinians have shown time and time again that no matter the circumstances they will never give up on fighting, they will never give up their dignity, and they will not give up their education.
Some may be surprised to hear about makeshift schools made out of tents, to see children and teenagers studying with explosions as background noise. any university students go to great lengths to follow and access online lectures and are willing to walk for hours to sustain their exams. Teachers and professors amidst death, pain, mourning and exhaustion, do their best to provide education to their students, even in an environment where internet connection is rare to find.
For anyone familiar with the Palestinian people, however, this is not surprising in the slightest. For Palestinians knowledge and education, especially in the most difficult times, is of the utmost importance. In 2018, a report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics shows that Palestinians have one of the highest literacy rates in the world. For decades, all Palestinians, from Gaza, to the West Bank, in Jerusalem, and those from ‘48, have propelled and firmly believed that education was an essential tool to reaffirm their existence, protect their identity and see it as a means of resistance to fight against the occupation; making education as a pillar of their existence.
A girl in Gaza when asked what she took with her after being displaced from her home she said: “I saved my books as they meant the world to me, My childhood would end if I had lost my books.” School becomes the only normalcy they can allow themself amidst the genocide and the occupation. For a few hours a day they can focus on learning and be given hopes of a luminous future.
Education is a powerful tool of liberation for Palestinians, which is why the occupying forces view it as a threat to their apartheid system. They have long recognized the transformative power of books and knowledge. In response, they have systematically undermined the educational infrastructure in Palestine, treating education as a privilege rather than a right. This strategy is designed to reinforce their control over the occupied territories and advance their colonial agenda.
Since the beginning of the assault on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the educational system in the Strip has been completely decimated. Nineteen higher education institutions have been shut down, and universities have been frozen(word??), leaving over 88,000 students unable to continue their studies. every single university in Gaza has been destroyed . In such a context, it would be absurd to claim that education remains a priority when Gazans are desperately fighting to survive a genocide. Yet efforts are still made by both students and teachers in Gaza partly also supported by other educational institutions in the West Bank.
In addition to the extreme conditions faced by Palestinians in Gaza, those in the West Bank are also subjected to severe and escalating violations under the Zionist occupation. Palestinian students in the West Bank are not exempt from the restrictions and limitations imposed on their education. These challenges include, but are not limited to, movement restrictions, arbitrary arrests, attacks by settlers, and violence from the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). Since October 9, 2023, all higher education institutions in the West Bank switched to distance or online learning, leaving more than 138,800 students without access to "normal" in-person education.
Even before the genocide and the escalating attacks in the West Bank, the Israeli Occupation Forces had already been using movement restrictions, separation walls, the siege of Gaza for over 16 years, and control over access to Jerusalem and other occupied territories as tools not only to enforce their systematic occupation, but also to hinder education. These policies contributed to the geographical fragmentation of Palestine, making it increasingly difficult for Palestinians to easily pursue education.For instance, in the early 2000s, 350 students from Gaza were expelled from the West Bank's Birzeit University, while others remained in the West Bank "illegally," risking expulsion at any moment. By 2005, the number had drastically decreased to just 35, and today fewer than 10 students from Gaza are able to study at universities in the West Bank. Even for students in the West Bank, severe movement restrictions made it incredibly difficult to attend university. Many were forced to choose their universities not based on academic prestige or their desired programs, but on proximity and accessibility. Students often had to opt for the closest university to minimise the risks of violence or even death during their journey, which frequently involved crossing checkpoints controlled by the IOF. This is particularly true for women, who are more likely to select universities that are literally life-saving, rather than those based on their academic or career aspirations. This restriction on their freedom to choose a university based on personal ambition has a significant impact on their future opportunities.
On an institutional level, these restrictions also hinder the growth of Palestinian universities, limiting the development of Palestinian-led research and the formation of a robust academic community. The barriers to academic exchange—both between Palestinian universities and with institutions abroad—further isolate Palestine's educational system and undermine the ability of Palestinians to participate in global academic and scientific dialogue.
Since October 2022, Israeli forces have implemented a new set of measures that effectively place Palestinian universities under siege, stripping them of authority over key academic decisions. This includes the power to nominate international academic staff, researchers, and even the selection of international students who can be permitted entry into Palestinian universities. These actions are part of a broader pattern of restrictions that limit academic freedom and are rooted in a multi-layered, racist colonial system that denies Palestinians their fundamental rights—particularly the right to development and self-determination.
The Israeli occupation on the ground cannot be separated from the occupation in the realm of education. Israel aims not only to control physical space but also to monopolise the narrative, ensuring that education in Palestine is subjected to its full control. This includes actively suppressing and distorting the Palestinian narrative, with education itself becoming a battleground. By preventing Palestinian youth from accessing a quality education, Israel directly targets both individual students and institutions that challenge its occupation, apartheid system, and colonial settlement practices.
The systematic efforts to undermine Palestinian education are part of a larger strategy to deny Palestinians their right to learn, grow, and flourish. Palestinian universities, and those who stand within them—students, faculty, and researchers—are continuously subjected to restrictions, arrests, and intimidation if they oppose or resist the occupation in any way. This institutionalised attack on education is a crucial aspect of Israel’s broader campaign to control and suppress Palestinian identity, culture, and resistance.
