Madrid, 18 December 2023
The Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE) expressed in a communiqué issued on the 17th October its concern and rejection of the escalation of war in the Middle East as a result of the events of recent days in Israel and Palestine. As a university system, we reaffirm our commitment to peace, justice, human rights, and democratic values, contrary to any war or terrorist act.
The attacks committed by the Hamas organisation on the 7th October, which included the murder, torture and kidnapping of Israeli and other civilians, were extremely serious; CRUE joins the call for the immediate and unconditional release of the hostages.
However, the subsequent Israeli response to these attacks is disproportionate and indiscriminate, hitting homes, hospitals, refugee camps, schools, and universities, causing the death of innocent civilians and evaporating all options for the future of Gazans.
CRUE also wants to join the international voices calling for an end to a spiral of violence that will eventually lead to a humanitarian crisis of unimaginable dimensions. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on the 25th October, “the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the horrific attacks by Hamas. Those horrendous attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.
In its commitment to peace and appealing, once again, to International Law, CRUE calls for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the harassment that is leading the Palestinian people to an absolutely unsustainable situation. It also calls for a permanent guarantee of access and distribution of humanitarian aid to the population in order to avoid greater misfortune. Finally, it urges the parties involved and the entire international community to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict through dialogue and the promotion of stable and lasting peace agreements that guarantee the security of the population.
