Introduction
The purpose of this report is to highlight the problems facing universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since the start of the Al Aqsa Intifada in September 2000. It examines the human and financial cost of the conflict on higher education, and the implications of these factors on Palestinian society. The report was produced to document the situation on the ground and uses case studies from Birzeit, Bethlehem and An Najah National Universities. The FoBZU Co-ordinator has compiled the information in this report using first hand reports from Palestinian academics and students, recent written documents from organisations such as Save the Children and Al Haq, and feedback from FoBZU visits to the region, the last of which took place in May 2001.