The Public Relations Department hosted a group of American students who visited the University and attended a meeting with its administration. The group was made up of students from different areas such as engineering, political science and medicine. The delegation visited the University as part of a 2-weeks trip around the occupied territories, despite the problem of their leader being banned from crossing the borders and being deported at the airport. Their visit to Palestine was motivated by a strong desire to get first-hand knowledge about the consequences the occupation has had on the lives of Palestinian people. During the meeting, held at the old campus auditorium, the American students and Palestinian students from different political factions discussed on different topics related to the Israeli occupation. The American students showed great interest in getting to know the points of views of our students on subjects like the political program of Hamas and the direct consequences of the unilateral policies of the Israeli government. The project was organized by the Delegation of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, PLO, in Washington.
The meeting was introduced by Mr. Saed Abu-Hijleh, Director of the Public Relations Department of the University, who gave a brief introduction to the current Intifada, pointing out that Israel has established more than 100 colonies between 1993 and 2000, thus sabotaging the Oslo peace process. Despite the atrocities committed against Palestinians since the beginning of the Intifada and the continuing annexations Israel attempts to carry out, he explained, Palestine is facing a lot of pressure by Israel and the USA to recognize Israel as a country. He compared the situation of the country to similar cases in history, pointing out the paradox of the fact that colonized nations are usually forced to accept their colonizers as a pre-requisite for peace negotiations.
The American students were interested in knowing more about possible joint activities between Israelis and Palestinians and how these could make a difference in tomorrow’s co-existence. Mr. Abu Hijleh explained, Israel has always adopted a position of “let the old generations die, we will deal with the younger ones”. In his opinion, Israel prefers to deal with the new generations, as they are seen as more likely to forget about their history, their rights and the situation of the refugees, while older generations still stick to their memories as they have lived through the occupation for most of their lives. Also, as one of local students suggested, he couldn’t imagine having a good time with an Israeli and then facing his harshness at a checkpoint.
Both students from the Islamic Block and from Fatah Youth agreed in making a difference between Jews and Israelis, underlining that it was not a rejection of the religion but a question of politics. The students said that having so many different political parties in Palestine does not suppose a problem at all, as they all unite when it comes to the struggle for liberty.
The question was raised about the practical program of Hamas, as well as about the reasons why people are now closer to religion than before. As a student from the Islamic Block explained, Hamas provides a great deal of social facilities that also affect new university students, who are guided through their first times at the campus and are offered help in finding accommodation and going through the administrative procedures. The Intifada has involved a return to religious values that has probably a lot to do with the suffering of the Palestinian people, who turn their faces to religion in search of a moral reference. Nevertheless, from the Islamic Block it was assured that Hamas will not force religion upon anybody. “Forget about the Taliban. This is not going to happen here, we are not going to force anybody”, he said. Up to now Hamas has always said recognizing Israel is not up for debate, although the group offers a long-term truce if Israel fully withdraws from