"The refusal of the Israeli government to allow Gaza students to study in the West Bank is a denial of the right to academic freedom. This collective punishment only increases the despair among young Palestinians and only damages chances for peace," said Rev. Duncan Macpherson, Friends of Birzeit University (FoBZU) chair.

A FoBZU delegation presented a petition with around 5000 signatures to Mr Shalom Tourgeman, the Israeli Embassy Public Affairs Counsellor this morning. The petition calls on the Israeli government "to guarantee complete academic freedom for the students, teachers and staff of Gaza who work and study in the West Bank" and in particular, for Israel "to introduce academic permits and a standardised, open system of procedure for dealing with applications".

Mr Tourgeman said that the Israeli government was aware of international pressure on this issue, and that 100 permits for Gazan students to travel to the West Bank to study had been issued in January 1998. The delegation informed him that 19 of the 100 names were refused permits by the Israeli authorities, that the 81 permits granted do not cover the full academic semester, and that the male students are still facing difficulties in obtaining their permits. Mr Tourgeman envisaged that these 81 permits would be renewed and that more permits would be issued in the future.

No progress has been made on the "safe passage" between the West Bank and Gaza, which was included in the Israeli-PLO peace accords, due to Israeli security concerns. Mr Tourgeman said the Israel considers Palestinians aged 18-25 as a "dangerous group". The delegation stressed that the vast majority of Gaza students are not a security risk and therefore should not be subjected to this collective punishment. It suggested that the issue of permits should be dealt with on an individual rather than a collective basis.

The international Gaza Student Campaign will be handing petitions into Israeli Embassies in ten countries.

For further information, contact: Friends of Birzeit University, 0171-373-8414