Arab League Convenes 110th Session of Committee on Educational Programmes for Arab Students

​The 110th session of the Committee on Educational Programmes for Arab Students in the Occupied Arab Territories was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. The session was attended by Ambassador Faed Mustafa, Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and the Occupied Arab Territories.

Ambassador Faed Mustafa conveyed the greetings of His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, and commended the Committee’s vital and fundamental role in countering Israeli attempts to disrupt the educational process and keep the Palestinian people in ignorance.

He reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian arena and the repeated attacks perpetrated by the occupation and its settlers against the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy sites. He stated that the education sector and all its components are among the sectors most targeted by Israel’s destructive assaults, particularly in the Gaza Strip, resulting in a major catastrophe in terms of the human and material losses sustained by the education system.

Ambassador Faed Mustafa noted that the education sector in Palestine faces grave challenges that place an entire generation at risk of losing its right to education, amid growing warnings from specialised international organisations about the potentially catastrophic repercussions for Palestinian society.

Ambassador Faed Mustafa stressed the need for urgent measures to rehabilitate schools and universities and ensure a suitable learning environment, noting that what is occurring in the occupied Palestinian territories forms part of a systematic plan aimed at erasing national identity and stripping generations of their awareness, culture, and sense of belonging.

He added that while global attention remains focused on the Gaza Strip, access to education in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has also been disrupted. More than 780,000 female students have been affected by movement restrictions, escalating violence, and fear of harassment by settlers and Israeli occupation forces since 7 October 2023.

He also pointed to the dire state of education in occupied Jerusalem, which continues to suffer under the weight of policies of annexation and Judaisation, in a persistent and escalating struggle. This situation requires the intervention of all concerned parties—states, bodies, and official and non-governmental organisations—to address the incitement, violence, and level of racism embedded in the Israeli curriculum. These constitute a serious violation of international human rights conventions and international agreements and treaties.