The paper documents the destruction of research and higher education in Gaza, showing how long-standing restrictions and underdevelopment have escalated into large-scale annihilation. The paper argues that the lack of research would mean that the Palestinian communities lack the ability to record committed crimes, preserve knowledge, inform the process of recovery, and shape their own future.

The paper examines the concept of scholasticide. It situates the targeting of Palestinian universities within a longer history of settler colonialism and argues that the destruction of education is a central part of genocide, aimed at erasing knowledge, memory, and future possibilities. The paper also highlights forms of resilience as Palestinian educators and students continue to teach, learn, and organize under extreme conditions, keeping education alive despite the loss of physical campuses. The paper argues that meaningful international solidarity must support Palestinian universities as institutions, respect their leadership, and resist extractive or depoliticized forms of engagement.

The paper turns to practice, presenting the Palestine Research Cluster at York University as a Canadian initiative that seeks to work with Palestinian institutions, not bypass them, by supporting Palestinian-led research, institutional continuity, and ethical forms of international cooperation.