Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Media Center “SHAMS” condemned in the strongest terms breaking into the campus of Birzeit University and kidnapping three of its students by a force of undercover in the occupation army’s at dawn, on Tuesday 26/3/2019. “SHAMS” Center underlines that this crime represents a new and described crime in a continuous series of ongoing crimes against the Palestinian educational & academic institutions carried out by the occupation since it stepped into our land, headed by Birzeit University due to its historic role in the enhancement of the Palestinian national movement, and an attempt to obstruct the democratic electoral process to be held at Birzeit University.
The center added that the occupation forces’ acts represented in storming Birzeit University and arresting a number of students is a dangerous and condemned action that violates the right to education guaranteed by the International Bill of Human Rights, mainly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Israel, the occupying power provides protection to Palestinian citizens on the basis of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Israel aims to impede the academic life by targeting academic institutions and intimidating and terrorizing students and employees.
“SHAMS” Center also stressed that breaking into the campus and kidnapping is a blatant violation of the right to education and political participation guaranteed by all international laws and laws as basic human rights and the inviolability of educational institutions, which is guaranteed by all international conventions and charters to be protected. These occupation crimes will fail, as before, in breaking the determination of the Palestinian educational institutions, their students and their employees, and the general Palestinian people, who have adopted education as a means of resistance, challenge, steadfastness and life.
Moreover, the Center also called on the International Federation of Arab Universities and related institutions to intervene immediately to condemn these violations and put an end to them through taking a clear, decisive and strong position. The Center renewed its call on international foundations, foremost among them is the United Nations and the Security Council, to break the silence, to condemn this act, and to work to provide protection to educational institutions, especially, and the general Palestinian people like the rest of the peoples of the world.