Yesterday, Monday, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education organized its fifth guidance conference, "The Psychological and Social Impacts of the Occupation's Violations on Palestinian Students." Under the slogan "We Persist to Recover," the conference was attended by official and prominent figures, specialists, academics, students, researchers, and those interested in guidance and mental health, among others.

In his speech on behalf of the Minister, Prof. Dr. Amjad Barham, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Dr. Nafie Assaf, stressed the importance of maintaining hope among students despite the ongoing practices and violations of the occupation in all areas. He recalled the suffering of children and students in Gaza, Jerusalem, Jenin, and Tulkarm, and their deprivation of their right to education and safe access to their schools and universities. He emphasized the need for the Ministry and local and international partners to stand with and support students, and to provide them with psychological and social support.

Assaf highlighted the importance of this unique conference, held under difficult circumstances and challenges, and the need to invest in its outcomes and follow up on its recommendations and outcomes. He also praised the efforts of all those involved, partner institutions, and all advocates for the rights of Palestinian children.

For his part, the head of the conference's preparatory committee, Dr. Mohammed Shaheen, delivered a speech in which he stated that mental health is a key pillar of public health, pointing to the psychological and social impacts of the occupation's aggression on the Palestinian people, particularly children and school students. He reviewed the results of specialized studies indicating that students are losing their ability to concentrate due to these violations, and highlighted the tasks of the conference committees, thanking the researchers and organizers of the conference and highlighting the importance of holding it on a regular basis.

For her part, Jerusalemite student Batala Al-Khatib discussed the suffering of Palestinian students on their commute to and from school due to the occupation's unfair barriers and practices, as well as its attempts to distort and obliterate the Palestinian curriculum, which impacts students' collective national identity, memory, and academic achievement. She called for protection and advocacy for Palestinian children and students.

The Gazan student, Abdul Rahman Al-Rayes, gave a speech in which he expressed the suffering of the students of Gaza.

For her part, Khadija Zahran, Director of the Policy and Legislation Oversight Department at the Independent Commission for Human Rights, presented a human rights-based approach to the reality of the occupation's violations in light of the genocide and aggression against the West Bank. She addressed the most prominent violations, human rights and legal aspects, and called on international organizations and relevant parties to strengthen protection of Palestinian children's rights and hold the occupation accountable for its escalating crimes.

Following the official opening, a dialogue session was organized, moderated by Dr. Wahid Jubran, in which Dr. Nafeh Assaf, Prof. Dr. Nabil Al-Jundi, a lecturer at Hebron University, Dr. Asaad Ramlawi, Director of the World Education Foundation, Mai Jalal, a student from the Unified School Parliament from Tulkarm, and Mira Dahman, a student from one of the virtual schools in Gaza, spoke. The session included content and a narrative of the overall violations that our students are exposed to, the nature of the interventions, especially the launch of virtual schools for Gaza students, the Ministry’s plans to rescue and compensate for educational losses, and a focus on the training aspect of educational cadres in dealing with violations, among other important topics.

The conference included several specialized sessions in which participants presented summaries of their research papers and influential experiences on the effects of the occupation and its psychological, social, and academic impact on students.

At the conclusion of the conference, Dr. Rafaa Al-Ramahi read the closing statement, which included several recommendations, the most prominent of which were: the need to provide specialized psychological and social support to students affected by the occupation's violations; attention to developing students' psychological and social resilience; the importance of integrating psychosocial support into the Palestinian educational system through staff training, strengthening the role of educational counselors in schools, and intensifying their preventive and therapeutic interventions, especially in areas most vulnerable to violations; activating the role of the family and local community in supporting students psychologically and socially through awareness-raising sessions and training for parents on how to deal with their children exposed to trauma or pressure; and calling for serious international action to expose the occupation's crimes against Palestinian students and work to guarantee their right to education.