15:20
Also demonstration at court
In addition to the demonstration at the Stopera, there is also a protest going on at the court. Demonstrators who were arrested during the occupation of Oudemanhuispoort are brought before them. There are currently about twenty activists present.
2:50 PM
Two hundred people demonstrate at the Stopera, emergency debate still in full swing
The number of demonstrators who gathered outside the Stopera on Friday afternoon is growing. Some demonstrators hold up Palestinian flags and some wear keffiyehs, the mostly black and white checkered scarves often worn at pro-Palestinian protests.
There are also signs with texts like ‘Protests more upsetting than genocide?’ In addition, slogans are chanted. Protesters shout, among other things ‘Every time the media lies, another child in Gaza dies’.
According to Carlos van Eck, who acted as spokesperson for the student protests in recent days, the demonstration on Friday was not organized by the students. He himself will be present and possibly more students from the UvA with him.
For the students, their demands from recent days remain: the UvA must be open about collaborations with Israeli institutions and companies, sever all ties with Israeli institutions that participate in ‘genocide, apartheid and exploitation of the Palestinian people and their land’, just like contracts with companies that benefit from this.
“I’m here to support the students,” said a protester who calls himself Chris. He doesn’t want to give his last name because he just got a new job. He believes that the police chased the students away too roughly this week. “They could have just stayed camping on Monday.”
He also believes that politicians, among others, wrongly portray the demonstrators as anti-Semitic. He was previously at one of the protests and says he did not hear or see anything there that he believes could be labeled as anti-Semitic.
He carries a sign with ‘The blood is on your hands. This refers to a pro-Palestinian song that rapper Macklemore released a few days ago.
14:17
Protesters hold a minute’s silence for victims in the Gaza Strip
The demonstrators hold a minute’s silence for the victims in the Gaza Strip since October 7, the start of the bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas.
14:14
‘In fact, everyone with a heart should be at the Stopera now’
Zep (24) is one of the students who helped organize the tent camp on Monday. He believes that the UvA is complicit in the ‘excessive police violence’ of recent days. ‘The conversations were symbolic and there was no point whatsoever.’
The fact that for the first time there are not hundreds of demonstrators on Friday, but approximately two hundred, is not a problem, according to the student. “I had to rest a lot from the violence of the past few days. I wasn’t there yesterday either, because I had to recover from everything. In fact, everyone with a heart should be at the Stopera right now.”
14:11
‘We want to be respected!’
The demonstrators at the Stopera chant a new yell: ‘We want to be respected!’
13:46
One of the organizers speaks of ‘successful demonstrations’
One of the organizers speaks of the fifth day of successful demonstrations and calls on the demonstrators to contribute to the organization. “Take responsibility, we are all leaders.”
13:32
About a hundred demonstrators are now present in front of the Stopera
There are about a hundred demonstrators on the square in front of the Stopera. They chant: ‘Amsterdam is saying no to genocide’. There are also about ten police officers with visible peace unit buttons.
13:31
Peaceful demonstrations are allowed as long as the council meeting is not disrupted
The peace police are present and have communicated the conditions to keep riot police at a distance: demonstrate peacefully and do not disrupt the council meeting.
“As long as that happens, we will keep the riot police at a distance,” says one of the officers.
13:20
73 spectators present in the council chamber
There are 73 spectators, including press, in the council chamber. The tent is closed; more people are not allowed in.
13:09
Still very quiet at the Stopera
It is still very quiet at the entrance to the Stopera, our reporters see. As usual, the meeting at the Stopera is public and banners are not allowed inside. Palestinian scarves are allowed.
In principle, 80 spectators are allowed in the Stopera. Later they will see if it can reach 130, if safety permits.
12:57
Emergency debate in Amsterdam city hall about UvA protests has started
The Amsterdam city council will debate this week’s UvA demonstrations with Mayor Femke Halsema today from 1 p.m.
In our other live blog, political reporters Tim Wagemakers and David Hielkema closely follow the debate.
12:13
It is unclear whether UvA buildings will reopen on Monday
It is still unclear whether the buildings of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) will reopen on Monday. On Wednesday, the university announced that all UvA buildings will remain closed at least until Monday. What happens next depends on the circumstances, a UvA spokesperson explained on Friday. According to the spokesperson, this will be discussed this weekend.
11:38
Mayor Femke Halsema about a week of UvA demonstrations: ‘There was no longer any peaceful protest’
Just before the emergency debate with the council this afternoon, Mayor Femke Halsema sent a statement of facts. ‘What started as peaceful protests,’ Halsema writes, ‘turned into unsafe situations, resulting in criminal behavior and major disruptions to public order. A large number of the actions took place on the grounds and in buildings of the UvA. Considerable destruction was caused.’
Read the article: Mayor Femke Halsema about a week of UvA demonstrations
11:37
Parool readers respond to UvA protest
Readers of Het Parool respond to the first week of protests against the war in Gaza and the University of Amsterdam’s ties with Israeli partners. ‘The police force should focus on de-escalation, not cause the escalation itself.’
Read the comments:Parool readers about UvA protest: ‘I don’t know what disgusts me more. The street terror or the forgiveness of the UvA’
10:01
How Amsterdam politics is struggling with the UvA demonstrations
Student protests and Amsterdam, it is a historic combination, writes political reporter Tim Wagemakers in Republic of Amsterdam, in which he highlights a political topic from the city.
Coalition parties face a difficult task: how do they not completely abolish institutions such as the police but also the UvA, while they also want to offer support for the protesting students?
Read his column: Then it was Eberhard van der Laan with an eye patch. But this week was different
10:01
Students protest for more than just the Palestinian cause
University events for a free Palestine are taking place worldwide, such as the occupation of the UvA in Amsterdam.
For these students, the pro-Palestine protest touches on a larger struggle. The Palestinian flag has become a symbol for more than just the Palestinian cause. “It all falls back to a broader idea that equality is not possible in our neoliberal system.”
Read the analysis: Students protest for more than just the Palestinian cause: ‘It’s about a fight for human rights’
10:01
Emergency debate in Amsterdam council committee about UvA protests
The Amsterdam city council will discuss the pro-Palestinian protests this week and the actions of the police on Friday afternoon. Mayor Femke Halsema is also present at the meeting of the General Affairs Committee, which has been scheduled at the request of all factions. The emergency debate starts at 1 p.m.
The demonstrations that are the subject of the emergency debate started last Monday afternoon, when a group of demonstrators set up tents on the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). With their protest, the demonstrators wanted to force the university to cut all ties with Israeli organizations.
A conversation that took place on Wednesday between some of the demonstrators and the UvA board did not result in any concrete agreements.
There was another protest on Thursday. A few thousand people gathered on the Roeterseiland campus at the beginning of the evening. They later walked through the city in a march, which ended on Spuistraat. There the riot police carried out several small charges. The police arrested three people.
Read the article: Tension around Gaza is growing in the city – and Halsema will also notice this on Friday in the emergency debate about UvA protests
10:00
UvA Rector sad about escalation of protests, ‘unacceptable’
Rector Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) Peter-Paul Verbeek got a ‘sad feeling’ from seeing the violence during the demonstrations at the buildings of the Amsterdam university. “Protests are part of the university, but they should be non-violent. Protesters should therefore not impose their will on others in an aggressive manner,” Verbeek said in Nieuwsuur on Thursday evening.
Verbeek finds it “completely unacceptable that a protest that starts peacefully escalates so much.” He did not want to speculate whether the aggressive demonstrators were actually UvA students because most had covered their faces.
Discussions with UvA students and employees in action groups continue, Verbeek said. The demonstrators want the university to cut ties with Israel. Verbeek does not want that, especially not with Israeli scientists.
10:00
Three arrests at pro-Palestinian protest
The police arrested three people at the pro-Palestinian demonstration in Amsterdam on Thursday evening. They were arrested for insult and incitement, a police spokesperson said.
Peace has now returned to Spuistraat, where the demonstration ended with a sit-in on Thursday evening. Previously, the police Mobile Unit carried out several short charges, including when demonstrators tried to stop a riot police bus.
The demonstration started on Thursday on the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). There, thousands of people chanted slogans such as ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘Shame on UvA’.
On Wednesday, 36 people were arrested during a demonstration on the university’s Binnengasthuis grounds. Eight of them were still in custody on Thursday evening.
09:59
Welcome to this new live blog
Good morning and welcome to our new live blog about the UvA protests in Amsterdam. Read all the updates in our live blog about the first four days of the protest.
Day four of the student protest started late. That did not stop thousands from gathering on Roeterseiland and then walking to the Maagdenhuis, where an occupation failed. Around 10 p.m., the organization called on everyone to go home and further police intervention was prevented. Read all of Thursday’s events in this one report.
