Amsterdam licks wounds after grim Palestine protests, Utrecht action over | At home and abroad

In Utrecht, a building of Utrecht University is occupied at Drift 25. The first activists are arrested by the police and taken to a city bus. The police inform via X that it has been decided to evacuate the building due to trespassing.

Earlier it became clear that the demonstrators were preparing for a long sit-down. An ANP reporter present saw that full shopping bags with food were being brought in.

Earlier in the day there was a demonstration on Domplein. It is not clear how many activists are in the building. Students who were in the building at the start of the action were very shocked by the action. Some are said to have left the building crying.

The activists want the university to cut all ties with Israeli institutions. For the same reason, buildings at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) have been occupied since yesterday. The university entered into discussions with the demonstrators, but was unable to reach a solution. A report was then filed and the demonstration was disbanded.

Immediately afterwards the police took action. A large police force had gathered in the center of Amsterdam around 5 p.m. More than twenty vans from the mobile unit and shovels drove towards the Binnengasthuis grounds of the UvA to put an end to the blockade. Protesters were warned to leave, but did not comply. The police then decided to intervene.

Activists resisted and sprayed fire-fighting foam at officers, who repeatedly had to keep demonstrators at bay with their batons. Once the blockade was broken through with shovels, it took hours before the last demonstrator was removed. According to the police, people who were not students but “consciously wanted to seek confrontation” had also joined the protests.

There is a lot of chaos in and around the building. Walls, windows and things are defaced with texts such as ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Ceasefire now’ or ‘ACAB (All Cops are Bastards)’. In addition, many floors were destroyed and demonstrators left rubble everywhere. An angry resident confronted the group as police led the protesters away. “Do you think that’s normal? How much do you think all this costs?”

Officers made several arrests, but large groups of demonstrators were only removed from the site and not arrested. That is why a large group was able to gather again on the Rokin to continue the demonstration.

A grim atmosphere arose on the square. The police were again pelted with eggs and stones and attacked with crush barriers. When demonstrators sought direct confrontation, officers were once again forced to draw their batons. According to the force, ammonia, a poisonous liquid, was also thrown at officers.

Ultimately, the mobile unit also had to be involved here. The demonstration was disbanded around 9:45 p.m., after which riot police cleared the square of demonstrators. The activists were driven to Rembrandtplein. Demonstrators are still present there, despite repeated calls from the police to go home. It is not clear whether the police will also intervene on Rembrandtplein.

A total of 32 people were arrested during the protests in Amsterdam, the police reported X.