Date: July 15, 2025
The PLO’s Refugee Affairs Department participated virtually via Zoom today, Tuesday, in the 109th session of the Committee on Educational Programs for Arab students in the occupied Arab territories. The meeting was held from the Arab League's headquarters in Cairo and was chaired by the State of Palestine. Vice Minister of Education Dr. Ayoub Alyan led the session, reviewing reports from the Arab League Secretariat, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, ALECSO (Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization), the Arab States Broadcasting Union, and ISESCO (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) regarding the status and developments of targeted educational programs—both radio and TV.
During the session, they discussed responding to Israeli violations of education in the occupied territories, the educational situation in Jerusalem, the status of educational radio and TV programming (including production, broadcasting, and reception), and plans to coordinate and enhance media exchanges. They also reviewed committee reports on listening, viewing, training, and capacity building.
Mr. Ahmad Ismail, Director of the Refugee Affairs Department in Jordan, emphasized that Israel bears full responsibility for the widespread destruction of educational institutions—which includes those run by UNRWA—in Gaza, due to its ongoing genocidal war and destruction campaign targeting the occupied Palestinian territories. He called on the international community and relevant organizations to provide international protection for Palestinian students and ensure the continuity of education across all sectors.
He appealed to the Arab States Broadcasting Union to launch a supportive campaign for Palestinian curricula, highlighting their objective approach, alignment with international law, UNESCO standards, human rights principles, and exposure of Israeli curricula for incitement, racism, and falsification. They also called for an Arab broadcasting campaign in September, coinciding with UN General Assembly meetings, to build overwhelming political support for the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate—especially given its critical role educating over half a million Palestinian refugee children amid intentional Israeli destruction of 85% of its schools in Gaza, closure of six schools in East Jerusalem, targeting of its staff, and the shutdown of its main Jerusalem office.
The committee proposed organizing cultural, artistic, and academic competitions, and encouraged ALECSO to run an international short-film festival featuring productions by Palestinian students that creatively reflect daily life under occupation and genocide. They also recommended establishing a dedicated digital educational radio for Palestinian students across all levels—offering online lessons and remote education—to compensate for Gaza’s destroyed education system (over 95% of schools destroyed, affecting 720,000+ students) and support ongoing efforts by the Palestinian Ministry of Education and UNRWA to deliver distance learning.
The PLO delegation was led by Ahmad Ismail and included Firas Awad (Head of Public Relations, Jordan) and Arwa Shritah (Camp Affairs, Ramallah). They were joined by representatives from host countries (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon), the Arab League's Palestine and Occupied Territories Department, ALECSO, the Arab States Broadcasting Union, ISESCO, and UNRWA.
