Students across Europe hold Gaza war protests in run-up to UN vote on Palestinian statehood

Thirty-two people were arrested as Dutch police broke up a Gaza war protest at the University of Amsterdam, in a second day of unrest over the conflict. Police said the offences included public violence, vandalism and assault.

Video captured by Reuters appeared to show officers in riot gear striking protesters and police knocking down makeshift barricades of desks, bricks and wooden pallets that seemingly had been used to set off fire extinguishers in hopes of pushing them back. The footage appeared to also show police dragging several students away as hundreds shouted: “Shame on you!”

About 30 miles south, at Utrecht University, students occupied a building in protest while in Belgium, dozens of students have continued to occupy Ghent University in a three-day protest that has fused demands about Gaza and the climate crisis.

In Spain, demonstrations and encampments continued at several campuses across the country. At the University of Valencia, where tents were set up 11 days ago, about 50 people are calling on Spain to sever ties with Israel. At Madrid’s Complutense University about 200 students crammed into 80 tents in an encampment launched this week. Similar initiatives have sprung up in Barcelona and the Basque Country.