   
Surda Roadblock Returns to Block Access to Birzeit University
Violations Update, Birzeit University, 21 April 2004
On Wednesday 21 April 2004, 3 Israeli Army jeeps and at least 8 Israeli soldiers blocked the road between Ramallah and Birzeit University. The roadblock appeared at lunchtime on Wednesday and was still there at 4pm when classes ended, making students and staff concerned about how they were going to get home.
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| No access to Birzeit University. Blocked by Israeli Army jeeps and soliders, students and staff wait in taxis on the road to Birzeit University. |
Traffic jams stretched in both directions as taxis, cars and ambulances were not able to get through, making the scenes reminiscent of the period between March 2001 and December 2003 when the Israeli military roadblock at Surda was a permanent obstacle to access to Birzeit University.
With no purpose other than to obstruct and harass students and staff getting to the Birzeit University, Surda Roadblock is singularly designed to bring a halt to educational activities at the University.
Flying Checkpoints
As well as the threat of periodic closures of the road to Birzeit University by the Surda Roadblock, Birzeit University students and staff are regularly forced to negotiate military 'flying checkpoints'. Flying checkpoints refer to the arbitrary imposition of one or more Israeli Army jeeps on the road to the university or even at the entrance of the university. Throughout the months of March and April 2004, there have been numerous incidents of flying checkpoints specifically targeting students of Birzeit University.
6 April 2004
A jeep and four soliders parked at the bottom of the Western Gate to the university stopping cars and taxis full of students on their way to morning classes. One of the soldiers insisted on aiming his gun at students in the cars passing the checkpoint.
5 April 2004
An Israeli jeep tried to enter the Western Gate of Birzeit University at 9.45am and when they were not allowed through they moved up to the main entrance at the Eastern Gate. The Vice-President of the University Administration, Dr Carmela Armanios-Omari, went to speak to the soldiers to ask why they were invading the university campus. Eventually they left but returned later in the afternoon. The same soldiers stopped a taxi full of students going home from the university. The soldiers took all their IDs and told the taxi to follow them to Bet El, the Israeli settlement and military base close to Ramallah.
19 March 2004
Three soldiers at the Western Gate of the entrance to Birzeit University stopped cars and taxis at random for approximately one hour. One female student was told to she couldn't enter the university because she didn't have her ID and was forced to return home to her village. Two other students were told to go to an Israeli military base the following Sunday for a "meeting" with the officer in charge of the military base.
17 March 2004
Armored Personnel Carrier with 7 soldiers at the Eastern Gate of the entrance to Birzeit University. The soldiers stopped and checked students arriving for morning classes at 8:008:30 AM.
3 March 2004
Flying Checkpoint at Star Mountain, a centre for children with mental disabilities situated on the road to Birzeit University. Twelve students were detained at the checkpoint for a period of time.
Activism News: CALL TO ACTION: Right to Education International Week of Action - 15th-22nd November 2010 (14 September 2010)
Studies & Research: R2E Fact Sheet (30 April 2009)
In The Media: Israel makes meeting another Arab a crime (23 September 2010)
Activism News: Shortage of classrooms lead to a sharp increase in dropout rate among Palestinian students in Jerusalem (21 September 2010)
Closure of Educational Institutions: Children in Gaza attend school in shipping containers (21 September 2010)
Activism News: Over 500 Academics Have Endorsed the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (20 September 2010)
Closure of Educational Institutions: Due to Gaza closure, 40,000 students refused from UNRWA schools (15 September 2010)
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