On January 6, 2026, Israeli forces stormed Birzeit University, located north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. Soldiers broke through the university’s main gate and entered multiple buildings on campus while roughly 8,000 students were present.

Israeli forces searched several buildings and seized equipment belonging to the student movement and carried out arrests during the offensive. They firing live ammunition and tear gas ahead of a planned event supporting Palestinian prisoners.

Israeli forces fired live ammunition, tear gas canisters and stun grenades as they entered the university campus, triggering panic among students and staff. According to Nirdin Al Mimi, Birzeit University’s public relations officer, two additional students were injured after falling while trying to flee the scene, while several others suffered from suffocation caused by tear gas.

Testimony of Inés El-Hajj |Stories From Palestine 🇵🇸 @InesElHajj :

"Israeli occupation forces raided Birzeit University, firing tear gas,live ammunitions, which led to several students suffering from suffocation. 8,000 students trapped inside the university. My sister is at the university and she’s suffocating and they don’t allow ambulances!"

The Israeli forces withdrewed around 12h30.

Detentions:

During the raid, Israeli forces detained

• Assem Khalil, the university’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, according to university officials.

• Journalists Moatasem Saqf Al-Heit and Karim Khmaisa at the entrance of the Faculty of Commerce.

Statement of the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education:

He strongly condemned the raid, saying it represents a blatant violation of international norms and conventions that protect educational institutions. 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. He 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. He 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.

Casulaties:

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.

At least 11 students were wounded as a result of the raid: 9 struck by live ammunition, 4 affected by tear gas inhalation, 2 injured while fleeing.

Other reports suggest several students were hospitalized, with bullets and teargas cited as causes of injury

41 injuries, including nine who were shot with live bullets, were reported when Israeli occupation forces stormed Birzeit University in northern Ramallah,

Statement of the The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy:

"The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy denounced the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the Birzeit University campus and their prevention of a peaceful event dedicated to solidarity with Palestinian prisoners held in occupation prisons, considering this a dangerous escalation in the policy of targeting educational institutions and silencing voices.

The Center explained that banning solidarity activities within universities constitutes a clear violation of international conventions that guarantee freedom of opinion and expression and the right to peaceful assembly, foremost among them the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It also represents an assault on the sanctity of educational facilities, which are supposed to be shielded from military interference.

The Center noted that this raid comes at an extremely sensitive time, amid escalating violations against Palestinian prisoners, including solitary confinement, medical neglect, and arbitrary arrests. This reflects the occupation’s attempt to obscure the truth and prevent the voices of prisoners from reaching local and international public opinion.

The Palestinian Center for Prisoners Advocacy warned of the dangers of the continuation of these practices, stressing that they represent a policy of collective punishment against students and academic institutions, and open the door to further violations that undermine the right to education and human rights work.

The Center called on the international community, as well as United Nations and human rights institutions, to urgently intervene and pressure the occupation to halt its incursions into Palestinian universities, ensure the protection of students and peaceful activities, and seriously work to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes against prisoners and the student movement.

The Center concluded its statement by affirming that attempts at intimidation will not weaken the centrality of the prisoners’ cause, and that popular and human rights solidarity with them will remain a national and humanitarian duty that cannot be confiscated by force."