Birzeit University Right To Education Campaign Birzeit-Surda Chronology The Israeli Military Roadblock at Surda - a Roadblock to Peace Report, Birzeit University, 23 August 2003 On July 27th 2003 the Israeli occupation forces removed the checkpoint which had been situated on the Ramallah Birzeit Road at the Surda junction since March 2001. The restoration of free travel along the Ramallah-Birzeit road constituted an important and concrete first step towards the reduction of the current tensions in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. On August 21, 2003 the checkpoint was reinstated. Over 6,000 members of the Birzeit University community, as well as the 65,000 residents of the 35 villages and towns surrounding Birzeit, were once again forced to cross the 1 kilometer long checkpoint by foot. The reinstitution of the Israeli military checkpoint on the Ramallah Birzeit Road will only serve to further alienate the Palestinian community from the peace process. The Israeli military checkpoint at Surda and numerous others like it are a violation of international humanitarian law, including provisions against collective punishment and guarantees for the protection of civilian populations under military occupation, students' right to education, academic freedom, and the fundamental rights of human beings to live in dignity and freedom. The Roadblock can only be seen as an arbitrary act of collective punishment against tens of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, elderly and disabled whose access to schools, work, humanitarian and health services and food and other goods is once again being greatly disrupted if not totally curtailed. The Roadblock also threatens the sustainability of one of the most important educational institutions in the Palestinian territories. Birzeit University has a long and respected history as a center of academic excellence. It has been a leader in the development of pioneering academic programs that promote human rights, the rule of law, and women's rights. It is internationally acknowledged as an institution dedicated to democratic values, pluralism and the free exchange of ideas, as well as playing a fundamental role in providing community service. Disrupting Birzeit University's capacity to function normally can only negatively affect the development of a healthy and sustainable Palestinian society and polity, as well as the possibility of future peace and reconciliation. It is essential that the University be allowed to resume its normal operations immediately so that it can continue to contribute to progress and prosperity which are necessary underpinnings to development, hope and a just and lasting peace.