NOS News•today, 5:29 PM•Amended today, 6:47 PM
The police in Amsterdam are working to end the pro-Palestinian protests at the buildings of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The Binnengasthuis site in the center of the city has been occupied by demonstrators since yesterday. Barricades have been erected on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal and the Grimburgwal nearby, making other university buildings unusable.
There are confrontations between the demonstrators and the mobile unit. Protesters attacked the police by spraying fire extinguishers and throwing objects. riot police hit demonstrators. An unknown number of people have been arrested.
The police use shovels to end the barricades. These are made with office furniture, ladders and stones, among other things. Some of the material was thrown into the canal by officers. Police boats and jet skis can also be seen there.
At least a hundred demonstrators were still present on the grounds of the university building at the beginning of the evening. Outside there are an estimated few hundred demonstrators, who are being driven away by the riot police.
Safety of local residents
Hundreds of demonstrators took part in the protest. The eviction started after the UvA filed a report, partly because vandalism had been caused in the buildings. The safety of local residents would also be at stake. “In addition, education cannot continue in the Oudemanhuispoort,” the university said.
These are the first images of the evacuation:
Police started to end student protests at UvA
The activists want the university to cut ties with Israeli institutions that are “complicit in the oppression, apartheid and genocide in Palestine”. At the end of the afternoon it became clear that a second conversation between a delegation of the demonstrators and the university board had also led to nothing.
“There is no room in the demands formulated by the activists,” the university said. “And the UvA cannot meet all demands.” The demonstrators’ representatives have a different interpretation. “The UvA has decided to stop the negotiations,” they said. “We wanted to continue tomorrow, but they rejected that.”
According to the police, the group of demonstrators consists not only of students, “but also of people who are not affiliated with the university and consciously want to confront the police.”
The mayor of Amsterdam, the police and the chief public prosecutor say they are very concerned about “the form that the protest has taken in and around the UvA buildings”. They say they do not accept that demonstrators “destroy other people’s property and block public spaces”.
View photos of the police action here:
-
ANP
Blood in a demonstrator after the intervention of the riot police -
ANP
The barricades are removed with shovels -
ANP
One of the barricades set up by the demonstrators -
NOS
Some of the barricades disappear into the water -
ANP
Police officers and demonstrators facing each other -
ANP
The riot police stop demonstrators -
NOS
An unknown number of people have been arrested
The pro-Palestinian protests at the University of Amsterdam started on Monday with the occupation of the university’s campus on Roeterseiland. That action was ended by the police at night. 140 people were arrested.
The Amsterdam city council will return from recess on Friday for an emergency debate on the protests at the university.
Politics The Hague
There were disapproving reactions from politicians in The Hague today, including from PVV leader Wilders. “It’s good that action is being taken,” he said. “The sooner, the harder, the more often, the better.” BBB leader Van der Plas speaks of “complete anarchy”. “This is all going way too far for me.”
Outgoing education minister Dijkgraaf said that universities must be a safe place for everyone. “It’s good that there is criticism, criticism of the world. That’s what the university is for, but it has to be in accordance with the academic rules.”
Demonstration in Utrecht
In Utrecht there is a pro-Palestinian protest on Domplein, where the Academy Building of Utrecht University is located. It is estimated that around two hundred people were present, demanding that the university cut ties with Israel.
Yesterday a demonstration of pro-Palestinian demonstrators ended at the university library in Utrecht. About fifty people were taken away by the police.
This is how the police ended the demonstration in Utrecht last night:
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators removed from Utrecht University grounds
