Students Organize Open Air Festival to Celebrate the Release of Students

Students held an open-air festival today celebrating the release of all those detained over the last week. One student leader addressed the large crowd stating, "The student movement insists that it will face any future attempt by the security forces to enter the campus grounds. We will also play a leading role in protecting freedom of opinion."

The secretary of the Employees Union at the university delivered a speech in which he assured support for the student movement against political arrest. All speakers encouraged the students to continue struggling against the procedures of the security bodies.

Several delegations visited the campus to show solidarity with the students. Speakers from Al-Najah university and Al-Quds Open University insisted on the unity of all student movements in the Palestinian universities and the rest of the educational institutions. Delegations from Al-Asreyeh College, Bethlehem University, Arab Orphan School and other organizations that supported the students over the last week also visited.

A speaker from the Regional Union of Arab Students in Israeli Universities gave a message of support for Birzeit Students and emphasized the unity of all Palestinians in rejecting what had occurred on campus.

One of the released students delivered a speech on behalf of the imprisoned students and thanked the university for its support of the arrested. "It was your struggle which won our release - this is a day of freedom for all Palestinians", he told the crowd.