TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

The Ramallah-Birzeit Road Has Been Blocked Once Again!

17 October 2001

Less than 48 hours after evacuating the Surda checkpoint on the Ramallah-Birzeit Road, the Israeli occupation forces re-instated the checkpoint on Wednesday, October 17, 2001, after the assassination of Israel's far-right tourism minister, Rehavam Zeevi.

The road to Birzeit University is completely blocked with cement blocks and heavily armored tanks manned by Israeli occupation forces, prohibiting cars from crossing, yet allowing passage to pedestrians after showing their identity cards. Birzeit University staff, faculty and students, who led one day of normalcy after the removal of the five-month-old checkpoint, had to face yet another day of harassment and humiliation by the Israeli occupation forces. (See article dated Oct. 16)

This closure is also affecting the 65,000 inhabitants living in the 35 villages surrounding Birzeit University. With this new closure, ambulances and vehicles transporting food supplies to the villages are also prohibited from crossing.

For further information about Birzeit University, please visit the University Website at http://www.birzeit.edu