Israeli occupation forces used live ammunition and tear gas to suppress a student protest at Birzeit University, adding to a wider escalation targeting Palestinian civilians and institutions across the occupied West Bank.
Israeli occupation forces raided Birzeit University, north of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, early Tuesday, violently dispersing a student rally held in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners before withdrawing from the campus hours later.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said that 11 students were injured during the raid and reported that Israeli forces initially blocked medical teams from entering the university to provide assistance.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health later confirmed that all 11 injured students were transferred to Ramallah Consulting Hospital.
Ministry of Education slams ongoing Israel's military attack on Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank
The Ministry condemned Israel’s incursion into Birzeit University on Tuesday, during which Israeli soldiers smashed the university’s main gate and fired live… pic.twitter.com/Yx3IQHqykA
— Palestine in the UK (@Palestine_in_UK) January 6, 2026
According to the ministry, three sustained live-fire injuries, three were wounded by shrapnel, and five suffered from tear gas inhalation.
A correspondent for Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli occupation forces fired live ammunition inside the campus and deployed heavily around Kamal Nasser Hall and other university facilities.
The correspondent added that occupation forces broke through the university’s main gate and spread across several areas of the campus, using live bullets and tear gas canisters to disperse students, resulting in multiple injuries.
The assault is part of a pattern of repeated Israeli raids on Palestinian academic institutions. Birzeit University has been targeted numerous times in the past, with students arrested and personal belongings confiscated during previous incursions.
They shot and wounded two students during their raid..
Israeli occupation forces have stormed Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank.. pic.twitter.com/Wf76pQ3m8M
— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) January 6, 2026
Separately, Al-Jazeera reported that Israeli occupation forces resumed demolition operations in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the northern West Bank.
Since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, has witnessed a sharp escalation in military and settler violence.
At least 1,105 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 11,000 wounded, and around 21,000 detained, according to Palestinian authorities and human rights organizations.
(PC, AJA)
