Palestinian Universities and the Israeli Occupation

Abstract

This article details the emergence of Palestinian universities in the 1970s in the conditions of Israeli occupation. Palestinian universities grew during the first intifada in 1986. An outline of the present controls on and around these universities is given – controls that are contrary to academic freedom and the basic right to education. Israeli actions involve arrests, violence, detention and death. In these conditions, however, academic culture still flourishes. Universities have become centres of resistance. The article details the arrest and imprisonment of several academics. Reports of routine violence only emerge when European and American academics visit Palestinian universities. This article thus urges more and more exchange visits with a view to the full details of Israel's occupation being brought out in the international community of academics.