We didn't see; we didn't know

Abstract

The Palestinian people have many symbols, and one of them is Bir Zeit university near Ramallah - the secular intellectual center of the society. For years, Bir Zeit has also been a symbol of the spirit of coexistence between the two peoples. Even during the darkest periods of the occupation (when the university would be immediately closed by a military order), they called for a solution based on recognizing the rights of both peoples. Even when their position was far from being popular in their community, and there were those who accused them of collaboration, they called for cooperation with Israeli peace forces which opposed the occupation. In the eighties, I acquired, like many others, my political education in the way of civil and democratic struggle from the young and idealistic lecturers of Bir Zeit. There is no doubt that Bir Zeit had an important role in the triumph of the spirit of compromise and reconciliation within the Palestinian society, at the eve of Oslo, when the Palestinian people extended their hand to peace with us, with hope and faith. Last week, Bir Zeit too returned to the claws of the military administration. Bulldozers ruined the only road which connects Ramallah with Bir Zeit and some thirty other villages. From now on, nobody enters and nobody leaves - no ambulances, no supply trucks, no students and lecturers who live in Ramallah. Bir Zeit ghetto joined the Gaza ghettoes, the prison camps of Jerico, Jenin and Tubas which are surrounded by ditches and many other. This week the areas south and west of Ramallah were also isolated, and ghetto Ramallah moved from "breathing encirclement" to "choking encirclement", as the IDF calls it.