Police clashed with pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Wednesday as they moved to dismantle barricades at Amsterdam’s main university.
Footage from local television channels depicted scores of police officers in riot gear engaging in baton exchanges with protesters as they cleared an area near the Binnengasthuis building in the city center.
“The operation was authorized by the mayor,” officials stated, citing charges such as disturbing the peace and property destruction by the UvA.
Video footage on the local AT5 channel showed police detaining several hundred demonstrators, including one individual roughly removed from a front-end loader. Another protester attempted to evade arrest by jumping into a canal.
Additional images depicted police surrounding and removing a small but vocal group of protesters who remained on campus, while equipment used to construct barricades was pushed into a canal by a front-end loader.
Protesters were seen waving placards reading “Free Palestine” and chanting “Shame on you” at police officers.
Police claim that the protesters included individuals beyond just students, alleging the presence of elements “not affiliated with the university” who actively sought confrontation with law enforcement.
The Amsterdam city council is scheduled to hold an emergency debate on Friday to address the ongoing demonstrations. Similar campus protests have emerged in the United States in recent weeks, with students urging universities to sever financial connections with both US weapons manufacturers and Israeli institutions, directly or indirectly.
These demonstrations have reverberated across college campuses and have started to gain traction globally. At the University of California, Los Angeles, pro-Israel counter-protesters physically assaulted demonstrators at an encampment.