BERLIN: German police removed 150 pro-Palestinian protesters from a faculty of a Berlin university on Thursday, bringing to an end one of a series of student-led demonstrations across Europe against Israel’s conduct in the war with Hamas.
A group of activists took over portions of the Humboldt University’s Department for Social Sciences in downtown Berlin last Wednesday.
The Student Coalition Berlin, which coordinated the demonstration, released a statement online demanding that the university “take an active role in ending genocide and suffering of Palestinians.”
Following discussions between the protest leaders and school administrators they resolved to let them stay until Thursday evening. However, some remained behind prompting authorities to summon the police, according to German news agency dpa.
While some demonstrators left willingly, others were forced out by policemen who had led them into various other sections. Police said there had been about 130 people briefly detained during this operation including when officers smashed through several locked doors.
Student protests regarding the war in Gaza that started in America have now spread to campuses all over Europe. This week has seen protests at universities including Munich and Leipzig among others.
Anti-Israeli demonstrations have come under stern control by Berlin authorities advising police force intervention where slogans on Jews inciting hatred are used; this is considered a taboo in Germany because it will bring back memories about Holocaust.
“There is no room for hate or anti-Semitism in Berlin and our universities,” said Burkard Dregger who is an MP from Christian Democratic Union (CDU) which runs the Berlin state government.