Israeli forces have detained four female Birzeit University students following a series of overnight raids across the Ramallah area as part of a growing pattern of targeting students and academic institutions in the occupied West Bank.
The detainees were identified as Jolan Abu Awwad, who was seized after Israeli soldiers stormed student housing in Birzeit, north of Ramallah; Sama Safi, taken from her family home in Ramallah; Leila Na'el Khalil, forcibly taken from her home in Beitunia, west of the city; and Natalie Abu Diah, who was seized from her family residence in Birzeit.
The arrest of Abu Diah, a media and journalism student and member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala, has drawn particular condemnation from church leaders.
Palestinian Rev. Munther Isaac told The New Arab that the targeting of university students forms part of a longstanding pattern by Israeli authorities.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Bishop Imad Haddad said the community was ‘deeply shocked and horrified’ by Natialie’s detention, adding that her family had not been informed of her whereabouts.
According to Palestinian rights groups, the four students join thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli detention, many without formal charges or trial under administrative detention procedures.
The arrests follow a major Israeli military incursion into Birzeit University on 6 January, when troops entered the campus during daylight hours, firing tear gas, live ammunition and stun grenades while pursuing students and staff.
