Palestinians injured in clashes in protest against Israeli university raid
RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Ten Palestinians were injured in clashes that erupted during a protest against an Israeli army raid last week on a university campus, a medical source said.
Undercover Israeli soldiers raided the Birzeit University campus to arrest the head of the students’ union Omar al-Kiswani, the university said.
The incident sparked protests and the university distributed video of the incident.
The Israeli army said security forces entered the university to arrest a student ‘suspected of terror acts’, confirming they fired a warning shot during the clashes that broke out.
It did not provide further details on his alleged activities.
Kiswani is part of a student association affiliated with Islamist movement Hamas.
Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi called the raid an attack on the ‘fundamental right to education’.
On Monday dozens of students from the university clashed with Israeli troops near the campus.
Protesters burned tyres and threw stones, with Israeli soldiers firing tear gas and rubber bullets.
A medic on the scene said 10 people had been transferred to hospital, including one hit in the face.
An AFP correspondent saw two people injured in the head.
A university official on the site, who declined to be named, said the protest was a ‘natural’ reaction to the Israeli raid.