The attached report was issued by the UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy at An Najah National University.  The Right to Education is an important right denied Palestinians by Israel, and is the subject of an important call for academic boycott.

While University students all over the West Bank are taking exams, students from the village of Awarta have missed exams, final project deadlines and suffer post traumatic stress leaving them incapable of sustaining their grades.

The village was singled out for military investigation into the March 11 murders of a family from the nearby settlement of Itamar and consequently was subjected to collective punishment by the Israeli military. Closures, curfews, arbitrary and prolonged detention, physical abuse and extensive property damage have left the entire village traumatized. For university students at exam time the consequences are inevitably dire.

The UNESCO Chair on Human Rights and Democracy at An Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine is dedicated to promoting human rights education, and engages in human rights research and advocacy to provide support and resources to create durable links between the academic and local community. As part of that program the Chair presents a report on the impact of such collective punishment on the students of Awarta’s right to education through their own testimonies. Please find attached the report in English and Arabic.

We at the Chair hope to engage with universities across Palestine and the wider world on the issues which impact the human rights of students and staff, particularly in the area of the right to education.

We welcome any further questions on our work and the report and look forward to the possibility of working with you in the future.

Read report in English: R2E Awarta–English (PDF)

Read report in Arabic: R2E Awarta–Arabic (PDF)

Read report: R2E Awarta–English