The Birzeit University community reacted with grief and protest to two tragic deaths of family members of University staff. On 16 November 1993, an Israeli soldier shot and killed 15-year-old Rami Ghazzawi, the son of faculty member Izzat Ghazzawi. Rami was killed on the grounds of his school in the West Bank town of Bireh. In a press statement, the University said: "Schools should not be hunting grounds for soldiers and Palestinian students have a right to protection and security... we will always keep a place for Rami in our hearts, as we struggle to achieve the human and national rights of all Palestinian children."

The Birzeit University community also extended its deepest condolences to Dr. Samir Shehadeh, on the tragic death of his wife Basima Shehadeh Tamimi. Basima, 44-years old and the mother of five children, died on 5 December 1993 of a ruptured aneurism in her brain, in the wake of an incident outside Ramallah Military Court where she was roughly treated by an Israeli female soldier and fell, hitting her head. Basima had been the victim of a previous rupture several weeks before, and was attempting to attend the court hearing of her son, Nizar, a Birzeit University student. In a statement, the University urged an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Basima's death and pointed out that "the Israeli army's commonplace cruelty and humiliation of the Palestinian civilian population is itself a subject for serious investigation."