Birzeit University memorial destruction aims to crush Palestinian memory

What Happened

On Monday at dawn, Israeli soldiers raided Birzeit University near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, accompanied by 10 military vehicles. A bulldozer demolished the Martyrs’ Monument — a stone pillar erected between 1994 and 1996 listing 38 students and alumni killed by Israel — and soldiers removed the marble stone. In its place, they left a planter containing a fig sapling with the inscription 'Water it twice.' The raid was the fifth Israeli incursion into the campus since the beginning of 2026 and the 28th since 2002, according to the university. Birzeit University's administration condemned the destruction as a violation of international law and an attack on education and national memory. The university said the last name inscribed was Omar al-Naasan, killed in al-Mughayyir east of Ramallah on September 2 while confronting settler incursions. The Israeli military later said it routinely removes 'symbols of incitement.'

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The destruction fits a broader Israeli campaign targeting Palestinian collective memory and suppressing universities as spaces of political activism. It coincides with wider West Bank suppression, including raids on campuses, student detentions, and removal of cultural monuments such as the 'Jenin Horse' and the Shireen Abu Akleh memorial. Analysts say targeting universities aims to deter anti-occupation activism and weaken Palestinian social cohesion.

Watch For

Monitor Birzeit University student protests and statements; any further Israeli raids on campuses; Israeli government approvals stemming from Smotrich's list of approximately 40 memorials; and Palestinian and international reactions, including possible legal or diplomatic moves over destruction of cultural symbols.