Justice For All Condemns the Illegal and Brutal Israeli Military Raid on Birzeit University, Demands Immediate Accountability

Justice For All condemns in the strongest possible terms the Israeli military’s violent raid on Birzeit University on January 6, 2026. It was  an assault that wounded dozens of students and staff with live ammunition, shrapnel and toxic gas.

Founded in 1924 as a school and evolving into a university in the 1970s, Birzeit University near Ramallah is the premier academic institution of Palestine, a symbol of intellectual resistance and a crucible for future leaders. Internationally renowned for its academic standards, it has produced alumni such as Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, former Minister of Higher Education; the late poet Mahmoud Darwish; and countless scholars, artists and professionals who contribute globally.

This January 6 attack represents a grave escalation in Israel’s systematic campaign to destroy Palestinian education, culture and future. It constitutes a flagrant violation of international law, binding ICJ rulings and universal academic norms.

According to eyewitness reports and the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the Israeli military  smashed through the university gates, transforming an academic sanctuary into a military zone.  Witnesses called the attack “unprecedented” in its ferocity. Students were shot in their legs, suffered shrapnel wounds, and inhaled tear gas while attending classes and preparing for a peaceful event. This raid, explicitly targeted a solidarity gathering for Palestinian prisoners and a student screening of the film “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which dramatizes the Israeli killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024.  Justice For All has submitted evidence about this case to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Israeli assault on the Birzeit students is a blatant act of collective punishment and cultural repression.

A Flagrant Violation of International Law, ICJ Rulings and U.S. Statutes

This military assault violates a foundational framework of international law and specific judicial rulings that Israel is obligated to uphold:

• Violation of ICJ Rulings: The raid directly contravenes the landmark ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 9, 2004, which ruled Israel’s occupation and associated practices illegal and ordered it to end the breach of international law.International Humanitarian Law (IHL): The raid constitutes a severe breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention (Article 3 & 27), which prohibits violence and cruel treatment, and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions (Article 52), protecting civilian objects like universities from attack.
• United Nations Resolutions: The attack flouts U.N. Security Council Resolution 271 (1969) and disregards numerous U.N. General Assembly resolutions affirming the inalienable right to education, including Resolution 64/294 on the right to education in emergencies.
• Human Rights Treaties & Agreements: The assault violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Articles 3, 5, 9, 26), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Articles 28 & 38), and the principles of the Safe Schools Declaration (2015), which prohibits the military use of educational facilities. It also breaches the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960).
• Violation of International Academic Norms: The raid is a direct assault on the universal principle of academic freedom, violating the spirit of the Magna Charta Universitatum (1988), endorsed by hundreds of universities worldwide, and the core values of international bodies like the International Association of Universities (IAU) and the Association of Arab Universities.
• U.S. Law: The provision of U.S. military aid used in this operation contravenes the Leahy Law (22 U.S.C. § 2378d), which prohibits assistance to foreign security forces that commit gross violations of human rights, and violates the Arms Export Control Act.

Calls to Action

Justice For All calls on:

1. The International Criminal Court to urgently expand its investigation to include this raid as a war crime and a crime against humanity.
2. The U.N. Security Council to convene an emergency session and pass a resolution condemning the attack and demanding Israel end all incursions into educational institutions.
3. The United States Government to immediately suspend all military aid and arms transfers to Israel pursuant to the Leahy Law and conduct a full investigation.
4. Global academic associations, universities, and scholars to publicly condemn this attack, suspend partnerships with Israeli institutions complicit in the occupation, and adopt the Palestinian-led call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) until academic freedom for Palestinians is guaranteed.

The students of Palestine, like all students everywhere, have the right to learn in safety and peace. We stand with Birzeit University and will not rest until justice is served.