As she made her way to the stage, her classmates carried pictures of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by the Israeli army last week while covering Israeli occupation forces’ raids in Jenin.

Nooran, who was graduating from the Centre for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University in Washington DC, tweeted the reasons behind her actions and included a short video of the moment.

“They have the tanks, we have the clocks.” This motto taught to me by one of my most supportive professors at Georgetown. @SecBlinken justice for Shireen Abu Aqleh and all Palestinians. I am proud to have refused your handshake and to have reminded you of our existence. https://t.co/NbUrbL1KZX

— Nooran A. (@nooranhamdan) May 22, 2022

“Neither myself nor my peers have claimed that our actions have done anything more than protest Blinken and the policies he upholds, and raise awareness for Shireen/Palestine,” she added on Twitter. 

“We are staying [in our land] whether you like it or not,” Nooran tweeted in defiance once more in Arabic.