Birzeit University recently raised a memorial to the eleven students who have been killed as a direct result of the Israeli occupation, since Birzeit became a university. The memorial, pictured below, is situated in the main square of the university and was completed in time for the Graduation Ceremony on 10 July 1995. Those who were killed hold a special place in the hearts of the university community and Palestinian society. They are known as 'martyrs', a reference to the Islamic religious belief that those who fall in the struggle for their homeland are given immediate entry to paradise.
Some of the martyrs' names are well known, after their cases received international press attention. On December 4th, 1986 the world was shocked when two students from Gaza, Jawad Abu Selmieh and Sa'eb Dhahab, were shot dead on campus by the Israeli military. Musa Hanafi, a senior honours history student, was shot dead on April 13th, 1987, his case reported in, "Battlefield Tactics at Birzeit University", published by the Public Relations office. With extensive eye-witness testimony, the report carefully documents how the Israeli army opened fire without warning using live ammunition that killed Musa and wounded many others.
The eleven students' names appearing on the marble memorial are:
Left: The Martyrs' Memorial at Birzeit. The text at the top in Arabic reads, "The martyrs of Birzeit University, who fell in the struggle for freedom and independence." Photo by Nigel Parry.