   
Israeli Army Violence Against Civilians Escalates as the Ramallah-Birzeit Roadblock Remains Closed for the Sixth Day
Report, Birzeit University, 13 October 2003
On Monday, October 13, 2003, the checkpoint at the Ramallah-Birzeit road (located near the village of Surda) remained totally closed to all pedestrian travel for the sixth day in a row entailing the loss of 4 working days at the University.
The Israeli Occupation Army has provided no explanations for the prolonged closure, which is prohibiting thousands of Palestinians from reaching their places of work and study.
Throughout the past few days, the Israeli soldiers stationed at the checkpoint have been arbitrarily withdrawing from the vicinity of the checkpoint, at which point civilians who are in need of crossing try to run from one end of the 1.5 kilometer stretch to the other.
Within minutes the Israeli army jeeps come racing down the bypass road and chase after pedestrians sometimes shooting live ammunition, rubber bullets and sound bombs.
For almost three hours on Saturday, October 11, 2003, hundreds of civilians were caught in the middle of the checkpoint, prohibited from either going to Ramallah or to Birzeit and the surrounding villages. When they were finally allowed to pass some civilians were beaten, kicked or punched by the Israeli soldiers.
The arbitrary closure of the checkpoint and the savage acts of violence against civilians are violations of international humanitarian law, including provisions against collective punishment and guarantees for the protection of civilian populations under military occupation.
They also deny Palestinian students' right to education, academic freedom, and the fundamental rights of human beings to live in dignity and freedom.
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