On November 23, 2025, Birzeit University in the West Bank suspended classes to mourn Baraa Khairy Ali Maali, a 20-year-old law student killed by Israeli gunfire in Deir Jarir. The incident, as noted by Serena Fraiese, highlights a concerning trend: the erosion of fundamental freedoms outside the boundaries of academic institutions, ultimately impacting those within them.
A Campus Mourns a Lost Student
Birzeit University issued a public condolence, in Arabic, for Maali, stating Israeli forces inflicted fatal wounds on him in Deir Jarir. The university encouraged collective mourning while reaffirming its commitment to academic pursuits, human rights, and civic values. Local, institutional, and regional sources confirmed Maali’s death, including reports from Hurriya News announcing a general strike by the student body.
Al Ayyam newspaper reported on the events in Deir Jarir, citing the council leader and gathering accounts from residents amid reported settler incursions under military guard. Both the Jordan News Agency and the Times of Israel reported that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) killed Maali during a settlers-and-soldiers raid, confirming he died at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah after initial treatment in Silwad. The IDF stated it would ‘look into the report.’
Broader Patterns of Academic Insecurity
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) records instances of academic insecurity and disruptions to education. OCHA’s November 27 Situation Update confirmed the killing of a Palestinian man during a clash in Deir Jarir on November 23, though it did not release the man’s name or age. The update also documented intensified movement restrictions, including prolonged checkpoints and obstructed access to schools.
Academic freedom, the report suggests, is fundamentally linked to safety, mobility, and continuity. Without these elements, the pursuit of knowledge is severely hampered.
The Academic Freedom Index 2025 (AFI 2025) and reports from Scholars at Risk (SAR) corroborate these concerns. SAR logs hundreds of attacks on scholars globally, including in the Middle East, detailing student killings, detentions, and university raids. SAR specifically identifies academic freedom as severely impacted across the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
A Gradual Erosion of Rights
Political scientist Lars Lott’s research suggests that rights are rarely lost through sudden shocks, but rather through the accumulation of smaller restrictions – limits on movement, increased checkpoints, and pressure on university governance. Viewed through this lens, Maali’s death is not an isolated incident, but part of a larger pattern of shrinking academic space in the West Bank.
Lott’s model provides a framework for understanding systemic deterioration, rather than viewing events as one-off disruptions.
Documenting these constraints requires careful framing, relying on public sources and avoiding speculation. Birzeit University’s statements, while using terms like ‘homeland’ and ‘martyrdom,’ are understood as a local vocabulary of institutional grief, not necessarily endorsements.
Looking Ahead
Academic freedom relies on material guarantees – safe access to campus, uninterrupted academic work, and institutional autonomy. If these protections continue to erode, we could see further disruptions to education and increased restrictions on academic life in the West Bank. It is also possible that international attention and advocacy efforts could lead to increased pressure for greater protections for students and scholars. However, without a fundamental shift in the political landscape, the challenges to academic freedom are likely to persist.
Frequently Asked Questions
What prompted Birzeit University to suspend classes?
Birzeit University halted all teaching to mourn the death of one of its law students, Baraa Khairy Ali Maali, who was killed by Israeli gunfire in Deir Jarir on November 23, 2025.
What do the Academic Freedom Index and Scholars at Risk reports indicate about the situation in the West Bank?
Both the Academic Freedom Index 2025 and Scholars at Risk reports indicate a sharp contraction in mobility, autonomy, and access to education in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, with academic freedom severely impacted.
According to Lars Lott’s research, how do rights typically erode?
Lars Lott argues that rights rarely erode through single, dramatic shocks, but rather through extended periods during which many smaller restrictions accumulate, such as limits on movement and increased checkpoints.
How can the international community best support academic freedom in regions facing political instability and conflict?
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