Why I left my university to study at Israel’s Ben Gurion University
A student at Israel ‘s Ben Gurions University of Technology is among a group of 20 Palestinian students who decided to leave their studies to return to Palestine after graduating from Israeli universities.
According to The Jerusalem Times, Yair Al-Atrash, 20, was one of them.
Al-Ascash, who has not been named, is studying in a new academic program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) and is studying the history of the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
The HUJ student group said the Israeli government was pressuring him to return and it had already informed the Israeli Embassy in Jerusalem about his plans to move to Israel.
Al-Tashirah, who was born in Jordan, was not permitted to return due to his Palestinian identity.
The student group also claimed the Israeli Government was targeting Al-Asrash and his family, including his parents.
Al-‘Arash said that he was informed by Israeli authorities that his family would be sent to the West Bank, where they will be denied entrance to Israeli universities and other institutions.
The Palestinian Student Union at HUJC (HUBJ) called on the Israeli authorities to halt the deportation of Al-Arash and the other Palestinian students, saying their expulsion was discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“I am here because I want to live in peace, not in fear of my future.
I am not afraid of my home and I want it to remain safe,” Al-‘Arashes father, Salah Al-Malki, told The Times.
Almalki said the students had been told by their teachers that their departure would not affect the school’s future plans.HUBJC said in a statement that the decision was made after consultations with the Israeli embassy.
Alma Al-Hama, a Palestinian academic, said that while many Palestinian students are willing to study abroad, there was a danger in not respecting the Palestinian rights and the right to return.
She said that there was also a risk in denying Palestinians their rights in the West.
She also said that the Israeli policy of “forced return” was a violation of international law.
The Al-Quds Center for Strategic Studies, a leading Israeli think tank, said in January that Israeli security forces detained a Palestinian in the occupied Palestinian territories last year after detaining him for six days for refusing to enter Israel.