UK diplomat flees protests at West Bank university

[Solomon2]

UK diplomat flees protests at West Bank university

By JPOST.COM STAFF, KHALED ABU TOAMEH 03/05/2013 16:09

Consul-General Sir Vincent Fean was at Birzeit University to discuss UK policy on Mideast, left abruptly after protests erupted.

British Consul-General Sir Vincent Fean in Jerusalem Photo: courtesy

British Consul-General Sir Vincent Fean was forced to flee Birzeit University near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday, after student protests broke out.

The senior diplomat was at the university to discuss Britain's foreign policy in the Middle East, and to meet with Birzeit President Dr Khalil al-Hindi. But he cut short his visit and departed abruptly after the protests erupted. When students learned of Fean's presence on campus, they staged a protest outside the offices of the university administration, chanting nationalistic songs and anti-British slogans.

Dozens of students shouting, "Get out of Birzeit!" attacked Fean's car as it left the campus.

Protesters were also holding placards reading "I am a refugee because of Lord Balfour", Israel Radio reported.

Fean's "intention had been to engage in an open dialogue with the student community about the UK’s policies in the Middle East," the British Consulate-General said in a statement. A spokesman for the Consulate-General told The Jerusalem Post neither Fean nor his staff were injured in the incident, but damage was caused to his vehicle.

"Sir Vincent had hoped to underline Britain’s deep commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state, and the urgency of progress on the peace process in 2013," the Consulate-General said, and adding that, “sadly, such a dialogue was not possible on this occasion."

In 2000, Palestinian students at Birzeit University attacked visiting then-French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, hurling stones at him and his entourage.

Dr. Ghassan Khatib, a senior Birzeit University official, denounced the attack on Fean as "unjustified."

Khatib pointed out that there had been a "relative improvement in Britain's positions regarding the Palestinian cause."

Khatib told the daily Al-Quds that the students could have protested in a "more civilized manner" and engaged in a rational debate with the British official.

"They should have respected him and listened to his lecture as he was our guest," Khatib, a former spokesman for the Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank said. "Instead, they acted in a way that harms both the students and the university."

But Kamal Assaf, chairman of the student council at Birzeit University, expressed support for the students' protest, saying it was a "required duty."

Assaf said that "Britain's colonialist policies stand with Israel and ignore our cause." He said that students representing all Palestinian factions participated in the protest.

 

[somebozo]

He might have the image of Christopher Stevens hoovering in his mind!

 

[Solomon2]

"I am a refugee because of Lord Balfour"

That's a sign Jews in Israel could carry; forced migration of Jews from Transjordan began a few years after the Balfour Declaration, and other Arab leaders joined in the seize-and-distribute-to-followers movement in the coming decades. But no Arab was ever forced to leave his land or home due to the Balfour Declaration as under the British (as with the Turks) Jews did not force Arabs out of Arab-owned land but instead bought such land at extremely high prices.