The first bullet went through his forearm. The next two struck his lower back. M. (names are not being published for protection), age 24, was incredibly lucky to survive. Like several dozen other students at Birzeit University, in the occupied West Bank, he came under heavy live fire on January 6 during an Israeli military operation in the middle of the campus, between the law faculty, the cafeteria, the bookstore, the science building, an auditorium and an administrative building. The raid, captured in several videos, triggered panic on campus. About a dozen people were injured, including two more seriously.

“It was a normal day, the normal life of a campus,” said M., echoing the dozen or so witnesses interviewed. Student unions had planned to gather in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners. They had also decided to screen the film The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, which tells the story of a six-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024 after she called emergency services for help.

The previous day, the army contacted the university to demand the ceremony be banned. “They threatened to intervene, explaining that the gathering had a political and national dimension,” said a university representative, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We replied that as long as there was no violence, we would allow the students to express their opinions,” he added.

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