On December 28, 2008 the Israeli occupation air force shelled with heavy bombs and missiles the Islamic University causing a total destruction of two main buildings in the campus –the science labs and engineering labs buildings. Both buildings contained seventy four science and engineering laboratories equipped with thousands of modern apparatus, appliances and devices. The two buildings have been turned into a pile of debris. Other facilities sustained minimal and major damage.
IUG represents an elaborate tale of painful success and unequaled perseverance that started thirty years ago with groups of students studying in tents with minimum requirements of campus life. Despite the inexorable and continuous Israeli occupation sanctions and harassments, IUG has become one of the largest and best universities in Palestine. The number of students currently enrolled at the university exceeds 20,000 students and the number of its graduates exceeds 29,000 students.
Hard times
The nicely designed buildings have been turned into a heap of ruins by the Israeli occupation air force that totally destroyed two main labs buildings and damaged partially a number of other buildings. The devastation was meant to target education, knowledge and civilization that the university represents rather than targeting the bricks and mortar of the university.
IUG is not the stones and cement that make these buildings; it is the incubator of civilization, enlightenment and scientific excellence. The Israeli complete hysterical attempts to bring Palestinians back into the dungeons of ignorance have failed and failed miserably. We have faith. We have determination to carry on our march of progress no matter what the challenges are.
IUG Laboratories: Research Centers and Community Service
v Through the university laboratories, the university professors attained great achievements and won several international, regional and local scientific contests.
v The faculty of Science won the prize of the Islamic Development Bank for creative institutions in the field of scientific research. This prize came as an acknowledgment of and appreciation for the active role the Faculty plays in the field of academic and scientific research.
v The faculty of Engineering won several prizes and its professors recorded a number of patents on many inventions as an outcome for their hard work and research they conducted in the engineering labs.
The university labs provided many scientific and engineering consultations including soil tests, food tests, fodder tests, fresh and sea water tests and contributed to conducting original research in environment preservation and wastewater…etc.
Consequences of Destruction
Under the crumpled wreck of the buildings lie thousands of invaluable scientific apparatuses, appliances and research devices. In few moments, the Israeli aggression caused a loss that amounts to 15,000,000 million USD. This will have grave consequences on the role of the university in developing the local community and in serving its students.
Our academic march towards excellence will go on
Targeting the University and its laboratories means targeting the vital role it plays in the community and its great contributions in the field of societal and scientific development as well as targeting the scientific and engineering services the university provides to the Palestinian community and its different institutions.
Despite the destruction, the university administration, academic staff and students are resolute to carry on their academic mission and triumph over all the obstacles and destruction made by the enemies of knowledge and humanity. We are also sure that we will survive this dreadful ordeal as we did before with the assistance of Almighty Allah first and then by the cooperation of freedom and knowledge lovers in the Arab and Islamic nation and the world as a whole
