Police dispersed a demonstration by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who occupied a courtyard at the Free University of Berlin, the latest action by authorities among protests that have rocked American campuses and across Europe.
Tuesday’s decision came after activists set up around 20 tents and formed a human chain around them to protest Israel’s war on Gaza.
Most covered their faces with medical masks and draped keffiyeh scarves around their heads, shouting slogans such as “Viva, viva Palestina.” Police called on students to leave the university campus in the German capital.
Police could also be seen taking away students and scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators. Authorities used pepper spray against some protesters.
“The people’s demands were quite clear, essentially saying it was time for Germany to take part in the protest movement across the world,” said Tel Aviv Tribune’s Dominic Kane.
“They are demanding that the genocide they say is taking place in Gaza be stopped. They also say that students who participate in these protests should not be banned from doing so and should not lose their status as students – this is something that many students who have participated in protests are afraid of. Kane said, reporting from the scene.
School administrators said in a statement that protesters rejected any form of dialogue and therefore called police to evacuate the campus.
“This form of protest is not oriented towards dialogue. An occupation is not acceptable on the FU Berlin campus,” said university president Günter Ziegler. FU is the abbreviation of Free University. “We are available for academic dialogue – but not in this way. »
Administrators said some protesters attempted to enter the halls and lecture halls of the Free University to occupy them.
Amsterdam camp dismantled
Earlier on Tuesday, police arrested around 140 activists as they dismantled a similar pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam police said on social media that their action was “necessary to restore order” after protests turned violent. No injuries were immediately reported.
Video from the scene broadcast by national broadcaster NOS showed police using a mechanical excavator to tear down the barricades and officers armed with batons and shields entering, beating some demonstrators and dismantling tents. Protesters had formed barricades using wooden pallets and bicycles, NOS reported.
After clearing the Amsterdam protest early Tuesday afternoon, police cordoned off the area with metal fences. The students were sitting on the edge of a nearby canal.
“The war between Israel and Hamas is having a major impact on students and staff,” the school said in a statement. “We share the anger and perplexity over the war and we understand that there are protests about it. We emphasize that within the university, dialogue on this subject is the only answer,” he said.
Anywhere else?
Other encampments have appeared in recent days in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and the United Kingdom, apparently inspired by a wave of protests on American campuses.
In Finland, dozens of protesters from the solidarity group Students for Palestine set up camp outside the main building of the University of Helsinki, saying they would stay there until the university, the largest institution academic from Finland, severs its academic ties with Israeli universities.
In Denmark, students set up a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Copenhagen, erecting around 45 tents outside the Faculty of Social Sciences campus. The university said students could protest but called on them to respect rules on campus. “Seek dialogue, not conflict, and make room for perspectives other than your own,” admins on X said.
On their Facebook page, members of the activist group Students Against the Occupation said their attempts to negotiate with the administration over the past two years to withdraw school investments from companies with ties to activities in the Illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories have been unsuccessful. vain.
“We can no longer settle for cautious dialogue that does not lead to concrete actions,” the group said.
In Italy, students at the University of Bologna, one of the oldest universities in the world, set up a tent encampment over the weekend to demand an end to the war in Gaza as Israel prepares an offensive in Rafah , despite calls from its Western allies against it. . Student groups staged similar protests in Rome and Naples, which were largely peaceful.
In Spain, dozens of students spent more than a week in a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of the University of Valencia. Similar camps were set up on Monday at the University of Barcelona and the University of the Basque Country. A group representing students at Madrid’s public universities announced it would intensify its protests against the war in the coming days.
French police peacefully expelled dozens of students from a building at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, on Friday after they had gathered in support of the Palestinians.
On Tuesday, students at the prestigious institution, which counts French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and President Emmanuel Macron among its alumni, were seen freely entering the campus to take exams as police stood at the entrances.
Protests took place last week at other universities in France, notably in Lille and Lyon. Macron’s office said police had been asked to evict students from 23 sites on French campuses.