KSA to set up 3 new universities

April 3, 2014

Jeddah, Apr 3: Giving another boost to the Kingdom’s higher education, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered the establishment of three new universities in Jeddah, Bisha and Hafr Al-Baten. It brings the total number of public universities in the Kingdom to 28.

Higher Education Minister Khaled Al-Anqari said King Abdulaziz University’s branches in north Jeddah as well as the colleges in Khulais and Kamil would be brought together under the new Jeddah University, which will have a total of 18 colleges and institutes.

Makkah Gov. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah thanked the Saudi leadership for approving the new universities. “This will help Saudi students to obtain higher education without any difficulty.”

He said the independent Jeddah University would spread knowledge in the region.

The Bisha University will be formed bringing together King Khaled University’s (KKU) branch in Bisha and other colleges in neighboring principalities such as Namas, Balqarn, Sabt Al-Ulya and Tathlith, the minister said, adding that it would have a total of 13 colleges.

The Hafr Al-Baten University will be established by transforming the branches of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) and Dammam University in Hafr Al-Baten and nearby principalities such as Naeeriya and Al-Khafji. It will have 12 colleges.

Saudi students and teachers welcomed the royal decision.

Abdelelah Saaty, dean of the College of Business in Rabigh, praised King Abdullah for leading Saudi Arabia’s educational renaissance.

“Since he ascended the throne in 2005, the number of government universities has risen from seven to 28. This is a big achievement,” he said.

He said Saudi Arabia required at least 10 more universities within the next five years to meet the requirements of its growing population.

“King Abdulaziz University was designed to accommodate 50,000 students. The number of its students have tripled,” Saaty said. The new Jeddah University will reduce the pressure on King Abdulaziz University, which has more than 140,000 students on its rolls.

Saaty emphasized that the government should continue sending its citizens abroad for higher education to learn from the best practices of reputable universities across the world.

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UN condemns Israeli regime’s ‘organized torture’ against Palestinians

News Network

November 30,2025

The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) has condemned the Israeli regime for enforcing a policy of “organized torture” against Palestinians.

In a report published on Friday, CAT stated that the occupying regime enforces a deliberate policy of “organized and widespread torture and ill-treatment” against Palestinian abductees, particularly since October 7, 2023, when Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza.

The committee expressed “deep concern over repeated severe beatings, dog attacks, electrocution, water-boarding, use of prolonged stress positions [and] sexual violence” inflicted on Palestinians.

Palestinian prisoners were degraded by “being made to act like animals or being urinated on,” systematically denied medical care, and subjected to excessive restraints, “in some cases resulting in amputation,” the report added.

CAT also condemned the routine application of “unlawful combatants law” to justify the prolonged detention without trial of thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children.

More than 10,000 Palestinians, including women and children, are currently held in Israeli prisons, according to Palestinian and international human rights groups, with 3,474 Palestinians in “administrative detention,” meaning they are imprisoned without trial for indefinite periods.

The report highlighted the “high proportion of children who are currently detained without charge or on remand,” noting that while Israel sets the age of criminal responsibility at 12, even younger children have been abducted.

Children designated as security prisoners face severe restrictions on family contact, may be subjected to solitary confinement, and are denied access to education, in clear violation of international law.

The committee further suggested that Israel’s policies across the Occupied Territories constitute collective torture against the Palestinian population.

“A range of policies adopted by Israel in the course of its continued unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading living conditions for the Palestinian population,” the report said.

On Thursday, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas condemned the systematic killing and torture of Palestinian abductees in Israeli prisons, urging international action to halt these abuses.

Citing human rights data, Hamas stated that 94 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli prisons since the start of Tel Aviv’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“This reflects an organized criminal approach that has turned these prisons into direct killing grounds to eliminate our people,” the resistance movement said.

Hamas called on the international community, the UN, and human rights organizations to immediately pressure Israel to end crimes against prisoners and uphold their rights as guaranteed by all international conventions and norms.

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