Israeli forces opened fire with live ammunition, sonic grenades and tear gas at a prominent university in the occupied West Bank, injuring dozens of people as students sat in classrooms and wandered around the campus.
Israeli soldiers broke down the university’s doors on Tuesday as panicked students and staff looked on in shock.
Three of the injured were shot in the legs, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Five people inhaled tear gas and three were hit by flying shrapnel.
“I returned the papers empty and left the building and saw them in front of me. They threw sonic grenades so I tried to escape and saw some teachers trying to talk to them. Then they shot,” law student Youssef Sharawneh told Al Jazeera.
Engineering student Mustafa Rimawi condemned the attack by Israeli forces. “Today Palestinians have no rights. They attack Gaza and the West Bank – universities and homes. Even mosques are not safe,” he said.
Birzeit University said in a statement that the attack “constituted a flagrant and deliberate violation of the sanctity of universities and educational institutions,” according to the official Wafa news agency.
“Attacking a campus in broad daylight and turning it into a militarized zone reflects a systemic policy designed to intimidate students, undermine their right to education and target Palestinian consciousness,” the statement said.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 11 people arrived at the Istishari Arab Hospital in Ramallah for treatment.
The Israeli raids followed a student campaign in support of thousands of Palestinian prisoners held in solitary confinement in Israeli prisons and coincided with the release of the filmHind Rajab”, a six-year-old girl shot dead by the army during the war. Gaza genocidal war.
Shortly before the screening, Israeli forces attacked the campus. The Israeli military said the attack targeted a “pro-terrorist rally” at the university.
“Start shooting”
Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim reports Birzeit University said a total of 41 people were injured in the attack, 11 of whom were hospitalized.
“This is unprecedented. People are telling us they have never seen anything like this. We are talking about the first time that Israel has attacked a campus where students are attending classes and the Israeli army started firing live ammunition, not just tear gas,” Ibrahim said.
“[For Palestinians] They live under occupation with limited choices and restrictions, and they rely on education to find jobs, live a life, and support their families. But now we see the state of worry among many students. No place is safe from Israeli attacks. “
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education condemned the violent incursion and said the attack ignored all international norms and practices on educational facilities.
The ministry said the attack would not “break the will of Palestinian students or staff” and called on the International Association of Universities, the Association of Arab Universities and international human rights groups to condemn the Israeli shootings.
People walked past bloodstains of Palestinians injured by Israeli forces on Tuesday [Alaa Badarneh/EPA]
“The nail in the coffin”
Meanwhile, Israel cleared the final hurdle on Tuesday to begin construction on a controversial settlement project near east Jerusalem that would effectively split the occupied West Bank in two, subject to a government tender.
Tender seeking developer bids clears way for start E1 project construction. Anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now first reported the tender. Yoni Mizrahi, head of the group’s settlement observation unit, said preliminary work could begin within this month.
Settlement development in E1, an open area east of Jerusalem, has been considered for more than two decades but was frozen during previous administrations due to U.S. pressure.
The international community overwhelmingly believes that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal and an obstacle to peace.
The E1 project is particularly controversial because it stretches from the outskirts of Jerusalem deep into the occupied West Bank. Critics say this would prevent the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state in the territory.
israeli finance minister Bezare SmotrichFar-right politicians overseeing settlement policy have long pushed for the plan to become a reality.
“The Palestinian state is being wiped off the negotiating table, not with words but with deeds,” Smotrich said in August when Israel finally approved the plan. “Every settlement, every block, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”
Interactive – Occupied West Bank – Israel approves 19 new illegal settlements – 1766394958
