Palestinian Academic Rights

EDM number 823 in 1990-91, proposed by Ernie Ross on 10/05/1991.

That this House notes with concern the closure, since December 1987, of Palestinian schools, colleges and universities by Israel which is denying thousands of Palestinian students access to an education; further notes that such closures contravene the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949 and have been condemned by the European Parliament, the United Nations, the United States and other governments; also recognises the universal right to an education regardless of race, colour or gender, and that more than half of the Palestinians resident in the West Bank and Gaza are of school age and that such closures affect the majority of Palestinians; calls on the Israeli Government to immediately re-open the closed Palestinian educational establishments; urges Her Majesty's Government to make representations to the Israeli Government to uphold international law and fulfill the internationally recognised responsibilities of occupying forces, while recognising that the present closures have denied an entire generation of young Palestinians access to an education; and further believes that the re-opening of the educational establishments in the Occupied Territories would play an important role in creating the right environment for steps forward in the search for a just and lasting peace for Israel and the Palestinian people.

This motion has been signed by a total of 88 MPs.