Two Palestinian universities closed by Israeli army
by Manisha Snoyer
Features | 1/28/03
Posted online at 2:04 AM EST on 1/28/03
According to the Haaratz daily newspaper, on Jan. 14, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) closed two universities in the West Bank town of Hebron -- Palestine Polytechnic University and Hebron University. The military order will hold for a period of two weeks, at which point it may be extended for up to six months or longer.
Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU) was founded in 1978 by the University Graduates Union, a non-profit organization in the Hebron district. PPU is composed of 2,497 students and 400 employees. In addition to courses for two and four year degrees in science and engineering, the university offers various electives for students and continuing education for the larger Hebron community in areas such as fine arts, language instruction (including Hebrew), computer technology, and women's rights and reproductive health.
Founded in 1971, as a small college for the study of Al-Shari'a (Islamic law), Hebron University has since expanded into the largest institution of higher education in the Southern West Bank with 4,200 students and seven schools in Shari'a, Arts, Education, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Finance and Management and Nursing. The university has a history of working to recruit women who make up 60 percent of the student body and provide scholarships to students with financial constraints.
In a statement on its web-site, the IDF justified its actions stating: "certain Palestinian academic institutions have become focal points and havens for radical religious and nationalist activity for all the terrorist organizations. The organizations have based most of their operational infrastructure on students, while using the resources at their disposal in the academic institutions." In a nine-page document about the incident, the IDF reported that the universities were "fertile ground for terror and a hothouse for terrorists and suicide bombers." The army based its allegations on claims that students had used university computer labs to download information from the internet on how to make explosives, that Hamas had used a chemistry lab at Hebron University to produce bombs, that the universities had disseminated materials to encourage terrorism and that several suicide bombers and Hamas leaders had been enrolled in the two institutions.
Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU) was founded in 1978 by the University Graduates Union, a non-profit organization in the Hebron district. PPU is composed of 2,497 students and 400 employees. In addition to courses for two and four year degrees in science and engineering, the university offers various electives for students and continuing education for the larger Hebron community in areas such as fine arts, language instruction (including Hebrew), computer technology, and women's rights and reproductive health.
Founded in 1971, as a small college for the study of Al-Shari'a (Islamic law), Hebron University has since expanded into the largest institution of higher education in the Southern West Bank with 4,200 students and seven schools in Shari'a, Arts, Education, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Finance and Management and Nursing. The university has a history of working to recruit women who make up 60 percent of the student body and provide scholarships to students with financial constraints.
In a statement on its web-site, the IDF justified its actions stating: "certain Palestinian academic institutions have become focal points and havens for radical religious and nationalist activity for all the terrorist organizations. The organizations have based most of their operational infrastructure on students, while using the resources at their disposal in the academic institutions." In a nine-page document about the incident, the IDF reported that the universities were "fertile ground for terror and a hothouse for terrorists and suicide bombers." The army based its allegations on claims that students had used university computer labs to download information from the internet on how to make explosives, that Hamas had used a chemistry lab at Hebron University to produce bombs, that the universities had disseminated materials to encourage terrorism and that several suicide bombers and Hamas leaders had been enrolled in the two institutions.
