Statement Issued by Birzeit University Council about the Israeli Occupation Invasion of the Campus

The Israeli occupation forces stormed the Birzeit University campus today and arrested two students; a continuation of its ongoing policy of destroying educational life in Palestine

In a continuation of the Israeli occupation policies targeting Palestinian higher education, and in blatant violation of the norms and conventions that condemn attacks on academic facilities; the Israeli occupation forces raided Birzeit University's campus this morning, Tuesday, November 26, 2024, and arrested the two students Amr Kayed and Hassan Saleh, assaulted members of the university guard, smashed the university's western gate and tampered with the contents of the student council.

A special force of the occupation forces, consisting of dozens of soldiers and trained dogs, infiltrated the university campus, surrounded the students. Six military vehicles stormed the university, assaulted the university guards, shackled and detained them in the rain and cold, and confiscated their phones, while they violently raided the student council building and arrested the two students, and destroyed four internal doors.

Birzeit University reiterates that these attacks are a continuation of the Israeli occupation's policy that targets all parts of the Palestinian people. The number of detained students from Birzeit University exceeds 150 students, while the university campus is subject to repeated raids, the last of which was last September, and this is the twenty-third invasion of the university since 2002.

Birzeit University calls on international human rights and academic institutions to support it in its quest to fulfill its educational and pedagogical mission, and emphasizes that these violations and attacks will not deter the university from continuing its march and seeking to fulfill its academic, societal and humanitarian roles. It calls on international and human rights institutions and the international community to stop the genocide crimes against our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to work effectively to stop the scholasticide and hold the occupation accountable for its crimes.

Glory for the martyrs, a speedy recovery for the wounded, and freedom for the prisoners

The Council of Birzeit University

November 26, 2024