Palestinian Prisoner’s Day
Students from Birzeit University, and all other Palestinian universities, are harassed and arrested on a usual basis by Israeli army forces. Sixty Birzeit University students are currently detained in Israeli military prisons, and the university, through its lawyer, is following up on their cases. The Right to Education Campaign in the Public Relations Office is making every effort to document these violations faced by the university’s students.
Birzeit University and the world will observe the Palestinian Prisoner’s Day on April 17 of this year – nearly a month after undercover Israeli operatives stormed Birzeit University’s campus and arrested head of the Student Council, Omar Kiswani, in a flagrant violation of all international norms and laws that condemn attacks on academic institutions.
In 1974, the Palestinian National Council’s regular session adopted a resolution to mark April 17 of each year as a day to honor Palestinian prisoners. Since then, that day is seen as a national tribute to prisoners and their sacrifices, a call to unify the efforts to support them and their right to freedom, and a call for solidarity with their families.