The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Photo: Wikipedia.

Ahead of the opening of the academic year on Sunday, Israeli university students expressed fear of returning to school as the wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks continue, nrg reported on Saturday.

“I don’t know if I can come to classes during the current situation,” said Naama Carmel, a Jerusalem resident in her fourth year at the Hebrew University, where she is majoring in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies and political science.

“The security checks at the entrance to the university are not thorough enough,” she said, because security guards are in a hurry to keep lines moving.

Maor, a geography and Jewish history major, agreed, saying that, “the security searches of students are not good.” Maor said that he had passed security checks multiple times while carrying a weapon, and the guards never noticed that he was armed; nor did they ever ask to see his weapon permit.

He said the university must reassure students that it is responding to the deteriorating security situation, and inform them of what measures it is taking to ensure their protection.

“You also don’t feel safe when you go to the gym, because of the large number of Arabs who come there,” said Maor, who pointed to the many groups of Arab students on campus, “among whom there are those who are directly connected to extremist Islamist organizations.”

Maor added, “Several of the recent terrorists have been young people, and among them was a female student. The university has to decide if it will allow these groups to continue on its campus.”

Michal, a third-year education major, also expressed her fear that one of her fellow Arab students might carry out an attack on campus.

“I never before thought that one of the university students might harm me. Even the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have taken place over the last few years rarely ever turned violent. But now, with everything that is going on off campus, I’m afraid that it will happen inside as well,” she said.

She continued, “I [still] speak with Arab students, but now I’m afraid that suddenly someone will pull out a knife on campus, so I’m more careful.”