The latest Israeli incursion into the West Bank began on March 29th 2002. This brutal military assault upon Palestinian land has left deep scars on all aspects of Palestinian society. Among the extensive destruction wrought on Palestinians, two of the Al Quds University campuses located in El Bireh were raided and looted. Israel's self-proclaimed "war against terrorism" was not just a hunt for those who legitimately resist Israeli occupation, but a rampage of destruction that targeted the institutions of education and civil society, places that Israel defined as sources of incitement and terrorism.

El Bireh and Ramallah (two major Palestinian cities located 15 km north of Jerusalem) have been the center for local and international education, social, cultural, economic, and peacemaking activities. At the heart of its education and community activities lie two campuses of Al Quds University. Hundreds of students, both graduate and undergraduate, have studied a wide range of academic programs including nursing, medical technology, public health, community health and social activities, media, archeology, and religious studies. The combination of these disciplines has enriched the culture of tolerance, sense of freedom, and connection to the history of Palestine and its struggle to end the Israeli occupation.

The College of Health Sciences Campus of Al-Quds University- El Bireh- West Bank.	Lower Access of Health Sciences of Al-Quds University Blocked by an Israeli tank.

Education is a basic human right, protected by international law, and cherished by every Palestinian. Since the signing of the Oslo Agreement in 1993, Palestinians have utilized education and academic institutions as a means of promoting peace, tolerance, multiculturalism, and development of Palestinian society. Al Quds University, with its administration located in the heart of Jerusalem, has ten faculties and eleven research centers. Its mission has been based on meeting the needs of the Palestinian community while searching for a comprehensive and just peace based upon sustainability and self-reliance.

The latest Israeli incursion into the West Bank, specifically El Bireh, has inflicted enormous destruction on Al Quds University's two campuses located in the city. The Health Professions complex houses the Schools of Nursing, Medical Technology, Medical Imaging, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation. The other buildings house the Institute for Modern Media, the Al Quds Educational Television Station, the Center for Area Studies, the Institute of Islamic Archeology, the Faculty of Public Health, and the Center for Development in Primary Health Care. The second campus houses the College of Jurisprudence and Islamic Studies. These two campuses serve close to one thousand graduate and undergraduate students, in addition to providing space to several other community outreach programs.

First aid and nursing laboratory later destroyed by Israeli soldiers during incursion	After.!!

Despite the painful situation that all Palestinians now face in the wake of the brutal Israeli military campaign, we feel that it is our responsibility to document the devastating and systematic destruction that was wrought on the West Bank and Palestinian society.

Destruction has touched almost all buildings, classrooms, laboratories, offices, teaching aids and equipment, prayer areas, the library and archives.

The results of the Israeli military aggression are visible even before entering into the main health profession buildings. Smashed cars are seen at the entrance and in the parking lot.

The grounds on which the university buildings rest were not spared. Once used as an outdoor gathering and meeting place, the surrounding gardens have been turned into a garbage dumpsite by Israeli soldiers who - without any respect to the environment - discarded their garbage into the pool.

The garden and swimming pool before the Israeli incurison	The garden and swimming pool used as dumpsite by Israeli soldiers

Classroom furniture was destroyed. Rooms were turned into dormitories for soldiers or interrogation rooms for hundreds of detained civilians whose had their hands tied, eyes blindfolded, and were dragged into the building by Israeli soldiers.

Medical laboratories were also destroyed. Sledge hammers were used to smash equipment, bullets pierced machinery, doors were blown off their frames, and furniture was broken.

Displaced and destroyed Furniture used for teaching classrooms	Classrooms used as sleeping rooms for Israeli soldiers

The main library, which serves both university students and members of the community, was heavily damaged. Books and other educational materials were either damaged or destroyed.

The main Library of the Health sciences campus before the Israeli incursion	The main Library after the Israeli destruction of its contents and holdings

The offices of the Institute of Islamic Archeology were raided. Files were destroyed and valuable antiques and excavated material was stolen.

The condition of the Institute of Modern Media and Al Quds Educational Television was devastating. This Center, which broadcasts educational programs and other features promoting democracy and civil society, was used to broadcast pornographic films aimed at provoking people while under curfew. Later, the Center and its equipment was totally destroyed including its cameras, mixers, recorders, computer labs, TV transmitter, and its children's and cultural library. Over six years of hard work was shattered.

Al-Quds Uinersity - Alquds Educational TV destroyed by Israeli soldiers

Prayer areas were also vandalized - acts that reflect hatred, animosity, intolerance, and total disrespect for others.

The campuses prayer area after Israeli incurison

The student cafeteria also suffered from extensive damage, with equipment and furniture smashed and broken.

Other buildings have not been spared. Doors have been blown off using explosives, windows shattered, offices looted, files destroyed, and archives damaged.

The above descriptions reflect only a small part of the systematic destruction inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces upon Palestinians and their civil infrastructure. Many committed Palestinian, Arab, and International friends who had worked tirelessly to help build a Palestinian state saw their dreams and hard work destroyed by a military offensive bent on wanton destruction.

Palestinians have learned over fifty years of military occupation not to succumb to helplessness. The Israeli government should be held responsible for its acts of destruction and terror, including compensation for the huge loss of life and infrastructure.

The faculty and staff of Al Quds University call upon the Israeli government and international community to:

• Stop repeated Israeli acts of violence and terror through international pressure and the application of international law;
• Send fact finding missions and investigating committees to document the violation of human rights and international law;
• Help us rebuild what has been destroyed in order to resume educational and development programs;
• Lift the closures and siege imposed by the Israeli occupation forces on our cities, towns, camps, and village and to allow freedom of movement and access to our university campuses for students, teachers, and employees.

The losses to Al Quds University property, furniture, equipment, buildings, computer software, archives and human achievements will add more burdens and difficulties to Al Quds University and all other Palestinian universities which have been operating under very difficult financial and operational constraints. The strict closures and limitations on movement have resulted in further devastation of the local economy, sharp increases in unemployment, decreases in the ability of people to access social services, and the inability of students and teachers to reach their classrooms and offices.

The gross destruction of the educational infrastructure provides only one case of the acts of violence and Israeli government policy of systematic destruction aimed at destroying the will of the Palestinian people. Yet the Palestinian people remain committed to building an independent state where they may life in dignity and free of oppression, occupation, and violence, and may fully participate in its vision of peace, justice, and democracy.

We need yuor help to rebuild educational institutions closed and destroyed by Israeli soldiers during incursion

The tasks in front of us are enormous and will require the assistance and support of all nations, organizations, and individuals who believe in the right of the Palestinian people to have access to education in a state of their own.

If you are interested in learning more on what has been destroyed or to support the rebuilding of Al Quds Univeristy campuses, please visit University web site http://www.alquds.edu to get the contact information.

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