Israel holds 340 Palestinian students - minister

Israeli forces are holding 340 Palestinian university students, according to Education Minister Sabri Saidam.

"Some 340 university students are held in Israeli prisons," Saidam told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday.

Last week, Israeli forces detained Omar al-Keswani, head of the student council at Birzeit University.

"A massacre was about to take place on campus as Israeli forces opened fire during the raid" to arrest al-Keswani, Saidam said.

He described the Israeli raid as "an organized state terrorism and unprecedented arrogance", going on to call on the International Federation of Universities and UNESCO to shoulder their responsibility toward halting Israeli violations.

"The Israeli occupation is targeting the Palestinian education system," he said.

The Palestinian minister said nine school students were killed and 603 others injured by Israeli forces last year.

"There are around 311 school students are in Israeli custody," he said, adding that some 95 Palestinian schools were also subject to Israeli attacks.