Israeli forces have stormed the campus of Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank, wounding at least three Palestinian students with live ammunition and causing dozens more to suffer from tear gas inhalation, Palestinian officials said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its medical teams treated three students for gunshot wounds to the legs sustained during the raid on Tuesday and transferred them to hospital for further treatment.
According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces fired live ammunition, tear gas canisters and stun grenades as they entered the university campus, triggering panic among students and staff.
Nirdin Al Mimi, Birzeit University’s public relations officer, told WAFA that two additional students were injured after falling while trying to flee the scene, while several others suffered from suffocation caused by tear gas.
Al Mimi said that around 8,000 students were present on campus at the time of the incursion, adding that Israeli soldiers smashed and damaged the university’s main gate before storming multiple buildings and faculties.
She also confirmed that Israeli forces seized equipment belonging to the student movement and carried out arrests during the offensive.
Detention and condemnation
During the raid, Israeli forces detained Assem Khalil, the university’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, according to university officials.
The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education strongly condemned the raid, saying it represents a blatant violation of international norms and conventions that protect educational institutions.
In a statement, the ministry said attacks on universities amount to an assault on the right to education and violate the sanctity of academic spaces under international law.
The ministry stressed that such actions will not break the will of Palestinian educational institutions, their students or staff, adding that they remain committed to the mission of learning and knowledge despite ongoing violations.
It renewed calls on the International Association of Universities, the Association of Arab Universities, and international human rights and media organisations to expose and help stop what it described as systematic attacks on Palestinian higher education.
Escalation across occupied West bank
Separately, several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation on Monday evening as Israeli forces carried out raids across multiple areas of the occupied West Bank, according to WAFA.
In Shuafat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem, Israeli troops fired stun grenades and tear gas towards homes and shops, causing cases of suffocation and deploying military vehicles throughout the camp’s streets and alleys.
Similar incursions were reported in Deir Dibwan near Ramallah, Odala, Qusra, and Beit Furik near Nablus, where Israeli forces used live ammunition, sound bombs and tear gas, triggering fear among residents, though no injuries were reported.
Israeli atrocities come amid a sharp escalation in Israeli military and illegal settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank where at least 1,100 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. According to Palestinian officials, Israel also detained over 21,000 Palestinians during the same period.
