Four Norwegian unis. cut ties with Israeli unis. over Gaza genocide
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OsloMet, the University of Bergen, the University of Southeastern Norway, and the Bergen School of Architecture have all terminated collaborations with Israeli universities.
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Rescuers evacuate an injured woman who was found under the rubble of a house destroyed following an Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis refugee camp. (AP)
Four Norwegian universities have opted to cut relations with Israeli colleges that they consider involved in the occupying regime's murderous onslaught in Gaza.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in its daily death toll that the number of Palestinians killed since October 7 has risen to 29,606, in addition to 69,737 injuries.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) applauded the decisions, calling them a significant step toward supporting the Palestinian cause.
The decision is consistent with the campaign's call for foreign academic and cultural institutions to cut connections with Israeli counterparts implicated in the genocide of Gaza.
Read more: Norway to provide UNRWA with $26 million: Foreign Minister
One of the universities taking action, OsloMet, has declared the end of its connections with Haifa University and committed not to enter into any new collaborations with Israeli colleges complicit in the war.
It also pledged to stop procurement contracts with vendors affiliated with the Israeli military or illegal settlements.
The University of South Eastern Norway followed suit, breaking ties with Haifa University and the Hadassah Academic College.
Following in their footsteps, the University of Bergen has terminated collaboration relations with the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, citing the academy's participation in providing uniforms and equipment to the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).
The Bergen School of Architecture has also joined this move, terminating its affiliation with Bezalel Academy due to its links to the IOF.
This decision is consistent with the sentiments voiced by 15 Palestinian institutions, which have asked for Israeli colleges to be isolated internationally for their role in the genocide.
Meanwhile, Norway's pension fund, which has over US$95 billion in assets, declared that it was divesting from all "Israel" Bond holdings due to their connections to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Norway to help transfer frozen funds from 'Israel' to PA
Last week, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it has agreed to help in the transfer of frozen tax funds allocated for the Palestinian Authority that were collected by "Israel".
It said in a statement that "the temporary scheme will play a crucial role in preventing the Palestinian Authority from collapsing financially."
Tax revenues are the main source of income for the Palestinian Authority, which is already struggling with financial complications to pay the salaries of its security forces.
After the onset of the war on Gaza, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decided to suspend the transfer of all tax revenue funds.
This decision was later mitigated by the Israeli occupation Cabinet. It was decided that tax revenues would be transferred, except the portions meant for Gaza, which would be withheld by "Israel" as it tries to choke the enclave.
The Palestinian Authority, however, had rejected this proposal of a partial transfer of tax revenues, refusing to accept partial funds and insisting on the release of all Palestinian tax revenues.
EuroMed calls ICJ members to cut all ties with 'Israel' over genocide
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called on Saturday for all member states of the International Court of Justice ICJ to sever all forms of political, economic, and military relations with "Israel" due to its blatant violation of the court's decisions calling for the cessation of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
This call was based on the belief that the continuation of these relations constitutes support and endorsement of an Israeli violation of the International Court of Justice's decision. Such support, the observatory said, encourages the occupation entity to persist in its genocidal actions against the Palestinian people.
EuroMed also condemned "Israel's" repeated violations of the court's order, as well as its breaches of the Genocide Convention ratified by "Israel."
The organization based its assessment of "Israel's" compliance with the court's decision on key indicators, including genocide, killing members of the group, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children out of the group, and publicly inciting genocide.
