IDF in Jenin (file)
IDF in Jenin (file)Reuters

IDF forces raided the campus of Arab American University in Jenin and confiscated property from student union offices, according to an unconfirmed report by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency.

The university’s public relations department told the news outlet that 11 IDF vehicles entered the campus grounds at 1 AM overnight and “broke into the office of the Dean of Students as well as a number of offices belonging to student unions.”

The soldiers allegedly seized flags belonging to “student union blocs” as well as two computers and paper documents.

Palestinian Authority (PA) “prime minister” Rami Hamdallah condemned the raid. “This is not the first time that the Arab American University and other Palestinian educational institutions have been subjected to arbitrary Israeli raids,” he PM said, citing alleged raids on Birzeit University and the Kadoorie Institute in recent months.

Ma’an said that university campuses in the PA have received increased attention from the IDF since the spike in terror in October. Earlier this month, he said, IDF forces raided the Khadoorie Institute – also known as Palestine Technical University – twice in an 18-hour period.

The PA’s universities are breeding grounds for extremists. In Bir Zeit’s student elections last April, the Islamic List led by Hamas gave the Fatah-affiliated list a thrashing, winning 26 seats as opposed to Fatah’s 19.

Hamas's victory was made all the more significant given that Fatah's list has long dominated the student politics on campus.