Pro-Palestinian occupations in Amsterdam and Nijmegen

On Monday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the Maagdenhuis of the University of Amsterdam. A similar occupation action is taking place at Radboud University. In Amsterdam, the police intervened, but in Nijmegen, that wasn’t necessary on Tuesday afternoon.

Around midday on Monday, fifty to a hundred masked pro-Palestinian activists forcibly entered the administration centre of the UvA. The staff members present were required to leave the building.

The occupiers demanded that the university immediately sever all ties with Israeli universities. They stated that suspending collaboration with the Hebrew University was nowhere near sufficient. They barricaded entrances, raised the Palestinian flag, hung banners from the windows, and lit green and red flares.

Slogans

The Executive Board refused to engage in dialogue with the masked occupiers and filed a police report. Dozens of supporters outside encouraged the occupiers, reported the university newspaper Folia in a live blog. They clashed with the police when they attempted to break through the barriers.

The police evacuated the Maagdenhuis and removed the occupiers who had not yet left the building. Inside, the demonstrators had sprayed slogans on the walls such as ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘UvA cut ties now’. Chairs were overturned or used as barricades at emergency exits. The administration reported that substantial damage had been caused to the building.

Footbridge

In Nijmegen, ten masked pro-Palestinian activists had been occupying a covered footbridge between Radboud University buildings since Monday afternoon. After a number of warnings, the administration filed a police report that night.

The Nijmegen occupiers also want the administration to sever ties with Israeli universities immediately. In a conversation with them, Executive Board Chair Alexandra van Huffelen stated that a decision would be forthcoming in a few weeks based on the recently published report from the advisory committee on collaborative ties and on ‘additional information we receive – including from you’. She did not want to be pinned down to an exact date, reported the university paper Vox.

Actions

Pro-Palestinian actions have also taken place at other universities recently, such as in Utrecht, Maastricht, and Tilburg. Just last Wednesday, there was an occupation at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Demonstrators there demanded insight into the collaboration with Israeli institutions, reported the university newspaper Ad Valvas. The VU administration stated that it values the right to free expression but does not accept occupations. In the afternoon, the police evacuated the building.