Layla Islam, a student at Birzeit University, was surprised when two female students entered the Faculty of Business Administration building, coughing and crying. Suddenly, students shouted that the Israeli army was storming the campus.
This was perhaps the largest incursion by the Israeli army into Birzeit University, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, during broad daylight on a regular school day on 6 January.
The Israeli army pursued students through the university yards and buildings, injuring 42, according to Palestinian medical sources. Most suffered from tear gas inhalation, while at least nine were wounded by live fire.
Layla, a third-year digital marketing student, and the other students fled the faculty building, fearing a further raid and the barrage of tear gas canisters. She witnessed students running and hiding, some collapsing from the gas canisters fired intensively by Israeli soldiers between the faculties.
"The scene was terrifying. I've never seen my university like this! Some teachers tried to guide us to safer areas and advised us not to leave until it was safer," she described to The New Arab.
After a brief lull, everyone assumed the Israeli soldiers had left, and the students tried to leave the campus. But the soldiers were still inside, firing indiscriminately at students and cars, and chasing students. The soldiers also sealed off exits while thousands of students and staff were still inside the campus.
"The fear was evident in everyone's eyes at that moment. The soldiers deliberately smashed the windows of dozens of parked vehicles for no reason. It was the first time we had experienced anything like this as students," Layla added.
According to her, after the fear she experienced that day, there is a significant difference in the level of security compared to universities around the world. There is no guarantee that this won't happen again or that it won’t get worse next time.
During the raid, the Israeli army confiscated students' personal belongings, such as laptops and other technological equipment, claiming they were being used in a protest in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Soft displacement
The Israeli army raids are not limited to Birzeit University.
According to the Ministry of Higher Education, there are ten traditional universities across the occupied West Bank, in addition to 23 colleges and institutes affiliated with higher education institutions.
In a report published in mid-2025, the ministry stated that Israel had raided and vandalised eight universities since October 2023, without specifying their names.
According to reports from local media outlets, raids since October 2023 have targeted Birzeit and Al-Quds Universities; the buildings of Hebron University and Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron; An-Najah University in Nablus; Al-Quds Open University in Tubas; Al-Aroub Technical College north of Hebron; and Palestine Technical University in Tulkarm.
The campus of Al-Quds University in Abu Dis, east of Jerusalem, was attacked by the Israeli army at least five times during 2025.
A source in Al-Quds University's administration told TNA that the raids targeted its buildings and courtyards, sometimes in broad daylight, with soldiers firing tear gas and stun grenades among the students to terrorise them and instil fear.
The Israeli army's constant pretext is student activities, which it claims are incitement, while simultaneously carrying out ongoing arrest campaigns against university students. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education, at least 400 Palestinian students were abducted by Israeli forces during 2024 and 2025.
Several observers say these systematic attacks on Palestinian universities are part of a broader Israeli plan to extend its complete control and annexe the occupied West Bank.
Saad Nimr, a professor of political science at Birzeit University, told TNA that the Israeli army's large-scale raid while at least 8,000 Palestinian students were on campus was unprecedented.
"The political objective behind this is Israel's attempt to impose new restrictions and mechanisms for dealing with Palestinians in the West Bank, implying that there is no safe place and no place beyond its reach, and that it can do whatever it wants, anytime, anywhere," he explained.
The daily pressures exerted by the Israeli army and settlers in the occupied West Bank have intensified since the war on Gaza, manifesting in restrictive measures such as placing more than a thousand military barriers.
"These economic pressures and the deliberate assault on universities and institutions constitute a form of starvation, different from what happened in Gaza, because it will ultimately lead to people leaving the West Bank in search of a better life, since the unemployed are often university graduates. All of this is part of the policy of soft displacement practised by Israel," Nimr concluded.
After the Israeli army withdrew, Birzeit University's administration held a press conference. It issued a statement, a copy of which was obtained by TNA, condemning the raid as a fully-fledged war crime and an organised act of aggression.
The university administration asserted that the raid targeted Palestinian education and students' right to learn, and blatantly violated the sanctity of universities and academic institutions.
It emphasised that this severe attack constituted a flagrant and deliberate violation of the sanctity of universities and other educational institutions, and a disregard for all international norms and conventions.
"The daylight raid on Birzeit University, turning the educational space into a military zone, reflects a systematic policy aimed at intimidating students, undermining their right to education, and targeting Palestinian consciousness and its national institutions," the statement added. "The university affirms that these repressive practices will not break the will of its students or staff, nor will they deter it from continuing its academic and national mission."
Birzeit University is one of the oldest and most prestigious Palestinian universities, founded in 1924. With approximately 15,000 students, it offers a variety of academic programs and participates in several research partnerships at regional and international levels.