14 December 2017•Update: 14 December 2017
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Israeli forces on Thursday raided a prominent Palestinian university in the occupied West Bank, seizing pro-Palestine banners and flags.
“Large numbers of Israeli forces stormed Birzeit University at dawn, seizing flags, banners and equipment,” an eyewitness, speaking anonymously due to safety concerns, told Anadolu Agency.
Israeli forces, the witness added, had confiscated equipment belonging to the Islamic Wafaa Bloc, a Hamas-affiliated student body.
“The flags and banners had been intended for use during Thursday’s planned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of Hamas’s establishment,” the witness said.
In May, the Hamas-affiliated Islamic Wafaa Bloc won Birzeit University’s student council polls for the third year in a row, clinching 25 of the council’s 51 seats.
The Fatah-linked Yasser Arafat Bloc won 22 seats, while the leftist Democratic Progressive Student Bloc won four.
Recent days have seen tension mount across the West Bank and Gaza Strip following the U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of a Palestinian state.
