-Caveat Lector- Israeli military siege prevents students from reaching universities 6 June 2001 On Tuesday morning, June 5, 2001, dozens of Bir Zeit University students were forced to return home at the Israeli military checkpoint on the Ramallah-Bir Zeit Road. When the students tried to explain to the Israeli troops at the checkpoint that they must be allowed to pass so that they could sit their final exams, the Israeli soldiers responded with firing live ammunition, teargas, and rubber coated steel bullets. 20-year-old Raji Al Nijmeh was injured in the incident, many other students passed out due to teargas inhalation. Dr. Hanna Nassir, chairman of Bir Ziet University said that Israeli forces prevented more than 400 students and 500 teachers from reaching the University. Israeli roadblocks and restriction of movement as well as humiliation of Palestinians on Israeli military checkpoints have become common phenomena in the current unrest. Palestinian students and teachers have been prevented from reaching universities, colleges, and schools. Such arbitrary measures of the Israeli authorities deprive students from sitting their final exams. Moreover, thousands of Tawjihi (senior high school) students will find it virtually impossible to sit their final exams on Monday, June 18, 2001. The students of Al Najah University in Nablus had to face on Tuesday an Israeli new roadblock on Nablus-Al Bathan Road. Such roadblock and other roadblocks around Nablus, sever the city from the other Palestinian areas. Moreover, the Israeli forces destroyed the road in order to make the siege even worse. They placed more barricades and cement blocks on the road leading to the Palestinian village of Dier Sharaf between Nablus, Tulkarem and Jenin. Israeli forces closed all main roads leading to Tulkarem and the surrounding villages. They also blocked the northern entrance of Noor Shams refugee camp. More roadblocks and barricades isolate the Palestinian villages of Anabta, Bal’a, Kufur Al Labad, Kufur Rumman and Biet Leed from Tulkarem. The universities of Al Quds, Bethlehem, and Hebron are facing major difficulties since Israeli forces have blocked Wadi Al Nar Road, which is the only road Palestinians can take to get to Bethlehem and Hebron. The blocking of Wadi Al Nar completely severs the north of the West Bank from the south. Israeli forces have also closed and dug trenches along Al I’beidiyeh-Biet Sahour Road. Israeli barricades also block all the roads linking southern and eastern villages of Bethlehem such as Biet Ta’mar, Taqou’, Al Asakira, Dier Salah, Za’tara, Al Freidees, and Rabah. All roads linking Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Um Tuba, Bethany, Jabal Al Mukaber, Sur Baher, Al Sawahreh, and Al Sheikh Sa’ed have been blocked. Israeli forces have also blocked all roads in the district of Hebron. Trenches and barricades cut off Wadi S’eer from Bethlehem, Yatta and Bani Na ’eem from Hebron. There are 23 universities and colleges in the Palestinian territories; sixteen in the West Bank and seven in the Gaza Strip. They have 71,000 students and 4,096 staff members. The Ministry of Higher Education released a study titled “The Current Situation of the Higher Education Institutions” describing students and staff’s attendance in the first six months of the Intifada as follows: Universities Students’ attendance 45-82.5% Staff’s attendance 64.5-95% Average 72.17-87.13% Colleges Students’ attendance 20.5-100% Staff’s attendance 60-100% Average 63.60-80.27% The data mean that 24,000 students were unable to attend colleges and universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. For instance, the Islamic University in Gaza has 9,820 students whose attendance was as low as 44%, which means that the Israeli siege prevented 5,500 students from attending their classes. The data also indicate that attendance of students at Gaza’s universities and colleges is well below that of the West Bank, for example attendance at Al Azhar University was 60%, attendance at the Islamic University was 44%, attendance at the College of Science and Technology in Khan Yunis was 49%, and attendance at Palestine Technical College in Dir Al Balah was only 20%. However, the West Bank higher education institutions recorded higher percentages of attendance, for example attendance at Palestine Polytechnic was 74%, at Bethlehem University attendance was 76%, at Bir Zeit and Hebron universities it was 82%, and at Al Najah University in Nablus attendance was 77%. Girls’ colleges recorded lower percentages such as the Girls’ College of Educational Science, which recorded an attendance of students as low as 27%. Yet, those records dropped sharply recently. A recent survey showed that 54.9% of students experience difficulties in reaching their universities due to the Israeli siege on Palestinian areas. The survey also showed that most of the “absent” students were from the areas known as Area B and Area C, which are under Israeli forces’ control. Such students find it impossible, due to the siege, to reach their universities and colleges. On the other hand, in Gaza, the situation is even worst since Israeli authorities prevent 1,300 Gazan students from arriving to their colleges and universities in the West Bank. Moreover, thousands of Gazan students, under tight Israeli siege, are deprived of attending their universities in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, Palestinian academic institutions nowadays suffer major financial problems since they are forced to extend semesters and give make up classes as well as to provide emergency plans and exempt the children of Palestinians died in the Intifada from paying tuition fees. The outside financial support and the support from the Ministry of Higher Education have also stopped adding more financial burdens to Palestinian universities and colleges. The damage the Israeli siege inflected on Palestinian universities and colleges: First: a survey conducted on a random sample of 1,370 of university students showed that 72.8% couldn’t afford to pay the tuition fees, which means that 52,000 out of 71,000 college students will not be able to pay the tuition fees Second: many students had to take the first semester off. For instance, 1,370 students at Al Quds University (out of 4,992 students) did not register for the first semester. That was all due to the hardship caused by the Israeli siege and restriction of movement as well as the arbitrary arrests and humiliation Palestinians experience at Israeli military roadblocks. According to Mr. Hisham Kameel from the Ministry of Higher Education, the hardship also affected universities’ annual budget of US$ 52 million. Since the Ministry is unable to collect tuition fees, the annual higher education budget nowadays stands at only US$ 6 million. Third: the size of loss of the 1st semester caused by Israeli shelling of higher education institutions stands now at more than US$ 4million. Al Quds University, for instance, lost US$ 12,700 in students and staff’s rent. It also had to pay US$ 70,570 to students who withdrew from the 1st semester Fourth: all development projects at universities and colleges have been stopped Fifth: salaries: only employees of five colleges, which are run by the Ministry of Higher Education, have been receiving their salaries regularly. LAW reiterates the following: The Israeli policy of siege is a grave violation of the internationally recognized human rights. It is also a collective punishment against the unarmed Palestinian population. The Israeli siege violates Article 33 of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, which states, “No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited.” Article 13 of the International Declaration of Human Rights confirms “(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.” Article 12 of the 1966 International Convention on Civil and Political Rights states: “1. Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State shall, within that territory, have the right to liberty of movement and freedom to choose his residence. 2. Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own. 3. The above-mentioned rights shall not be subject to any restrictions except those which are provided by law, are necessary to protect national security, public order (ordre public), public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others and are consistent with the other rights recognized in the present Covenant. 4. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.” Depriving Palestinian student of education is a grave violation of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In the light of the above, LAW demands the Security Council and the High Contracting Parties of the 4th Geneva Convention to immediately intervene and end the Israeli military siege over the Palestinian territories. ************************************************ LAW publications and press releases since 1994 are available on our website at http://www.lawsociety.org LAW – The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Fédération Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Member of the Euro- Mediterranean Human Rights Network <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. 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