Right to Education Campaign Report: Birzeit University Raided 26 Times Since 2002
Translation – read the original report here.
Since 2002, Israeli occupation forces have raided the campus of Birzeit University 26 times. The dates and details are as follows:
6 January 2026 – Israeli occupation forces raided the university in broad daylight, while lectures were taking place and students were inside classrooms. This constituted a fully-fledged crime targeting Palestinian education and students’ right to learn, and a blatant violation of the sanctity of universities and academic institutions.
Occupation forces smashed the university’s main gate and fired live ammunition, sound bombs, and toxic tear gas intensively and directly at students and members of the university community. This brutal military assault resulted in 41 student injuries, including 9 caused by live ammunition.
Tuesday morning, 9 December 2025 – Occupation forces raided Birzeit University campus in a large-scale assault that caused extensive damage to university facilities and buildings.
Midnight, 22 September 2025 – Occupation forces stormed the campus, assaulted university guards, and raided several buildings, including the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Fine Arts, the Nasib Aziz Shaheen Theatre building, and the Student Council offices.
Tuesday morning, 26 November 2024 – Occupation forces raided the campus, arrested students Amro Kaid and Hassan Saleh, assaulted university guards, smashed the western gate, and vandalised the Student Council offices.
Dawn, Tuesday 3 September 2024 – Occupation forces stormed the campus and raided the rooms allocated to the Student Council and student movements, confiscating flags and publications belonging to student blocs and causing widespread destruction to university property.
22 February 2024 – A special undercover unit (musta‘ribeen) stormed the university’s western entrance and arrested the President of the Student Council and one of its members.
8 November 2023 – Occupation forces raided the campus, specifically targeting the Student Council offices, vandalising student movement property, and confiscating flags, papers, and publications belonging to student groups.
24 September 2023 – More than 50 military vehicles surrounded the university and stormed the campus. After assaulting university guards, confiscating their mobile phones, and detaining them in the guardroom, another force raided the Student Council offices, blew open their doors, vandalised their contents, and arrested eight Student Council members, including the elected Student Council President and several members of the Student Council Congress.
10 January 2022 – Undercover occupation forces fired live ammunition at a group of students at the university’s eastern entrance, injuring one student and arresting five others.
14 December 2021 – Occupation forces raided the campus, assaulted university guards, lowered the Palestinian flag, vandalised university property, and confiscated flags and materials belonging to student blocs.
26 March 2019 – Undercover forces, supported by occupation soldiers, stormed the campus and abducted three Birzeit University students in the morning, in a grave violation of all international norms and conventions that prohibit attacks on academic institutions.
7 March 2018 – Student Council President Omar al-Kiswani was arrested on campus at approximately 4:00 pm while sitting in the courtyard opposite the Student Council offices. A group posing as journalists approached him and requested an interview. Following a fake press interview, it became clear they were undercover forces. They assaulted him at gunpoint in front of students, forcibly restrained and handcuffed him, and subjected him to severe physical assault, including punching, kicking, and the use of electric shock batons across his body for several minutes. The forces then withdrew from the centre of campus under military protection, with occupation soldiers storming the university’s western gate in civilian vehicles to secure their withdrawal.
Earlier raids were documented in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2014, 2016, 2017.
