Introduction

It had been a hard year for Birzeit students:

• Permits have not been granted to any Gaza students, approximately ten percent of the student body.
• Access to the university has been prevented on several ocassions by Israeli checkpoints, the longest for two continuous weeks, seriously disrupting the university's academic calendar.
• One-tenth of the student body was detained by Israeli troops on March 28th.
• The general patterns of arrest have continued, despite the Israeli redeployment in December 1995, which many people hoped would bring change.
• Torture in Israeli prisons is in the process of being further legalised.
• Students are regularly prevented from travelling abroad and - most significantly - even inside the country, to the capital Jerusalem.

In common with Palestinians all across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Birzeit students were upset to hear about the latest Israeli attempts to 'Judaise' Jerusalem.

Toady, they held a rally on the campus in the morning (pictured above left), and left the university at around 11am to 'travel by bus to Jerusalem'. They knew they would be stopped on the way by Israeli troops, as Palestinians need permits to travel to Jerusalem, and so they planned to demonstrate wherever they were stopped.

Photo © Yasser Darweesh