Police on site – Pro-Palestine demonstration: Humboldt University of Berlin evacuated

Locked and partly barricaded doors were forcibly opened by police, police spokeswoman Beate Ostertag said. Moments later, police declared the evacuation complete. According to initial information from officials, there were about 150 activists in the building.

Activists called for “solidarity with the Palestinian people”
The demonstrators occupied the university rooms on Wednesday in protest against Israel and in support of the Palestinians. The occupiers of the group called Student Coalition Berlin accused Israel in a statement of “genocide” and “continued mass murder.” It is about “unconditional solidarity with the Palestinian people”. They demand, among other things, that Berlin’s universities commit to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and put pressure on the German government. This should impose an arms embargo on Israel and end all military, financial and diplomatic aid to Israel.

In view of the expulsion, President Von Blumenthal expressed her regret that no agreement had been reached. “I’m not sure if it would have worked, but I had the impression that we took a good step with this dialogue,” she said after talks with the pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied the building. “The order then came from the highest top to end the occupation. “I followed that instruction,” she said. By this she meant the ruling mayor Kai Wegner of the CDU, as she explained when asked.

Uni was looking for a conversation
Blumenthal said of the conversations with the activists that it was possible, with a moderation of mutual respect, “to talk about things where we might even come closer and also to talk about what divides us.” It was also possible to listen to the suffering of the Palestinian students. Of course, she always had the suffering of Jewish students in mind.

Videos on social networks show the occupation of Humboldt University:

The mood at the university was heated on Thursday evening, a dpa reporter noted. Banners hung from the building with, among other things, the words ‘Free Palestine’. Several dozen occupiers stood and sat in the courtyard behind a fence, some covered in Palestinian scarves. They sang ‘Viva Palestina’ and ‘Yallah Intifada’. Intifada refers to a series of attacks and terrorist attacks by Palestinians in Israel and is also interpreted as a call to violence. According to the activist spokeswoman, about a hundred squatters had spent the night in the institute. The university tolerated the occupation until 6 p.m. on Thursday.

Mayor: “Act consistently”
Mayor Kai Wegner said this on Platform Education must continue! Our universities are places of knowledge and critical discourse – not lawless spaces for anti-Semites and terror sympathizers.”

Criticism also came from the police union. “The autonomy of education applies, and universities in particular should be seen as a place for exchange and discussion,” said regional association spokesman Benjamin Jendro. But that is no basis for legitimizing stepping outside the democratic framework, shouting anti-Semitic and inhumane slogans, holding up anti-constitutional posters and committing material damage.

There are always activities going on at universities
The conflict in the Middle East has now reached German universities. There have been repeated protests against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war and student actions to show solidarity with the Palestinians. An occupation at the Free University of Berlin was broken up by the police a few weeks ago.

In the English university city of Oxford, police arrested sixteen people during a protest. According to a BBC report, it was said to have been a sit-in by pro-Palestinian protesters. According to police, officers visited a location at the university on Thursday morning. It was previously reported that protesters had gained access to a private office in one of the buildings.