KUALA LUMPUR – A total of RM9.2 million for the Palestinian Humanitarian Fund was collected from the recent Palestine Solidarity Week, which thousands of schools under the Education Ministry (MoE) nationwide were directed to organise on their premises.
The ministry said that the Palestine Solidarity Week, which took place from October 29 to November 3, was held to educate students and staff on essential humanitarian values, encompassing human rights, security, and compassion.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek was handed a mock cheque for the RM9.2 million by the ministry's secretary-general Datuk Nik Nasarudin Mohd Zawawi on Friday, reported Bernama.
The ceremony was held during the Global Peace Solidarity Gathering to mark the conclusion of the Palestine Solidarity Week at Sultan Alam Shah School in Putrajaya.
The highlight of the event organised by the ministry was 800 students from educational institutions and over 200 ministry officers expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and support for peace worldwide.
Other highlights of the event included poetry recitation, drama and singing performances, as well as humanitarian speeches.
Since the unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel by armed resistance group Hamas, which reportedly killed 1,400 people and claimed over 200 hostages, Israel has ramped up its assault on the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza.
According to reports, the death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 10,000 with many more left homeless or injured.
Academic’s 19 family members perish in Gaza
Yesterday, a Palestinian lecturer at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) revealed that he has lost 19 family members in the Gaza conflict.
Wesam Almahallawi said his younger brother, Waleed Almahallawi, 40, who is a PhD student in human resource management at the same university, his sister-in-law and four nieces were killed by a bomb attack on October 25.
He added that several other family members, including his uncle and aunt, were also killed in the attack.
“In that incident, the Israeli bomb attack destroyed a residence where the family was living with 200 other Gazans,” he said in a statement issued by USIM.
Wesam, who is a lecturer at the Faculty of Leadership and Management, added that his mother and father, aged 65 and 68 respectively, as well as his younger brother and two other sisters survived the attack but have been uncontactable since then.
He said his family members also had to keep moving from place to place to find shelter in any undamaged house to save themselves.
“I have to wait for days for their response to my messages because Israel has blocked all telephone and internet networks in Gaza. It has been four days since I last heard from my younger sister in North Gaza.
“I hope for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The people of Gaza, including my family there, are fighting for their lives,” he said. – The Vibes, November 5, 2023
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