During the night of March 7, the eve of Ariel Sharon's swearing in at the Knesset, the Israeli Military Forces destroyed the main and only remaining road between Ramallah City and the 34 villages to the north, including Birzeit village in which resides Birzeit University; see map. Collectively, these villages have a population of about 65,000.
In an excessive act of destruction, the military forces dug two enormous ditches across the road. The two ditches are positioned 100 meters apart and the entire length of the road between them is destroyed. An additional several hundred meters of the road is destroyed on the north and south sides of the ditches. In the process of destroying the road, water pipes and telephone lines were cut. The Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR) constructed the road with aid from South Korea, OPEC, and the World Bank. The cost of its construction was 4 million dollars. The entire section of destroyed road falls in Area B; see photo.
This roadblock presents a great obstacle to the Birzeit University. The second semester was scheduled to begin on March 17, but most of the University's 5,000 students and 700 faculty and staff have been unable to reach it. All other entrances to the University have been closed for months. Now even this road is inaccessible. In addition, Israeli soldiers and tanks are sometimes stationed at the roadblock and prevent Palestinians from even walking across the large ditches; see photo 1, photo 2. The closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip makes life very difficult for students. Now that Birzeit University is practically sealed off from the outside world, the situation is even more critical for its students., . The closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip makes life very difficult for students. Now that Birzeit University is practically sealed off from the outside world, the situation is even more critical for its students.
It is not only the university that is suffering from this new development. The other residents of the villages north of Ramallah are cut off from markets, health facilities, government services and schools in the city. Scaling the ditches is difficult for children, the elderly, and people with handicaps. Obviously, ambulances would find the task impossible; see photo 1, photo 2..
The Birzeit University community has publicly opposed the new roadblock by organizing peaceful protest. The Israeli soldiers responded to these protests with tear gas and bullets. Two Palestinians were killed and many injured. But the confrontations drew international attention to the situation and the combined pressure caused the Israeli occupation forces to back down a bit. They have not fixed the road however.
Instead, the Israeli government has launched a campaign to convince the world that Israel's blockade of Palestinian communities has been eased and that the new government is against collective punishment. Israeli actions on the ground prove otherwise; for more.
Prepared by:
The Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem
