By Andrea Hargraves 
Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, said on Tuesday that “scientific research and knowledge production are among the strategic goals” of the Palestinian national entities.
Haniyeh delivered a speech on television at the opening of the first scientific conference of the Ministry of Education in Gaza.
“Scientific research embraces national demands, builds local capacities, and opens doors for our people to participate in the liberation process,” Haniyeh said. Societies that suffer from colonialism lack education more than others, as the occupation seeks to erase their identity in order to subject them to the culture of the occupier. This is the importance of education and science: to help nations be free.”
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Haniyeh took the opportunity to commemorate the Palestinian martyrs, among whom were scholars and other qualified professionals.
There are 225,000 university students in the occupied West Bank The besieged Gaza StripHaniyeh repeated, including 5,000 graduate students.
Haniyeh stressed that “Gaza surprises the world with its capabilities and knowledge production, despite the strict Israeli blockade and the restrictions imposed on research.” “Research centers have become a source of thinking for developing countries, so their leaders seek to set public policies in these areas.”
Haniyeh concluded by highlighting that the doors are open for any research or point of view, especially in the search for national development and a solution to the problems plaguing Gaza.