On January 6, 2026, Israeli forces raided Birzeit University, injuring dozens of people – including 11 who were hospitalized – with live ammunition, sound grenades, and tear gas and damaging university property.
The raid was conducted in response to a student rally organized in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. The rally was to be followed by the screening of the film “Hind Rajab,” which tells the story of a six year old girl shot and killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. On January 5, the day before the event, Israeli military officials contacted university authorities asking for the event to be canceled and allegedly threatening intervention if it was not. Israeli military offices apparently stated that it had received intelligence “regarding a planned gathering in support of terrorism and incitement to terrorism.” Birzeit authorities declined to cancel the event.
On January 6, after the rally had finished and before the film screening had begun, over a dozen Israeli military vehicles arrived at Birzeit University and entered the campus, destroying the main gate of the university. Eight thousand students were on campus at the time, including those participating in the rally and film screening on campus. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd that was gathered for the events. After some students threw stones at the soldiers, Israeli forces fired live ammunition. According to the military, they used “precise fire aimed at the most violent individuals.” Dozen of people sustained injuries, including 11 who were hospitalized: five with injuries from live bullets, four with injuries from tear gas, and two from injuries from falling during the chaos. Israeli forces also detained the university’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Asem Khalil for questioning, forcibly entered several buildings on campus, and confiscated materials belonging to student activists.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the forced entry into a higher education institution by military forces and the use of lethal force against students nonviolently gathered on campus and exercising their rights to the freedom of expression. While security forces have a responsibility to maintain security and safety, they must also refrain from the disproportionate use of force and ensure that their actions do not endanger civilians. Absent a compelling reason to do so, campus raids undermine academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and democratic society generally.
Sources:
https://pnn.ps/news/718445
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/6/israeli-forces-injure-11-palestinian-in-university-raid-in-ramallah
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2026/01/15/west-bank-s-birzeit-university-still-reeling-one-week-after-israeli-army-fired-on-students_6749450_4.html
https://www.haaretz.com/2026-01-06/ty-article/.premium/palestinians-say-11-wounded-in-idf-raid-on-west-bank-university-vice-president-arrested/0000019b-94d6-dcfc-addf-d5f6f1080000
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-birzeit-university-raid-aimed-to-disrupt-pro-terror-gathering/
https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/31915:education-international-condemns-the-israeli-military-attack-on-birzeit-university
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/01/israels-continuous-assaults-birzeit-university-are-attack-education-itself