Pro‑Palestinian protests in several cities, including Delft
Pro‑Palestinian protests were held at various universities on Monday. In Delft, around one hundred people gathered outside the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering.
The demonstrations were coordinated to form a national protest marking the Nakba, which is commemorated each year on 15 May. It is the term used for the violent displacement of Palestinians in the 1940s that preceded the establishment of the state of Israel.
Delft: slogans and a short march
About one hundred people attended the demonstration outside Aerospace Engineering (AE) in Delft. They carried banners, marched briefly and chanted slogans against the cooperation of TU Delft and AE with Israeli partners and international arms companies such as Airbus. Dean Henri Werij observed part of the demonstration from the faculty hall. A spokesperson told Delta that he would not be commenting.
The demonstration in Delft began at 12.30 PM and ended an hour and a half later with the announcement that it would continue in Amsterdam for those who wished. There, at the Vrije Universiteit, their allies had just occupied a building. They are holding ‘a kind of spontaneous teach‑in session’, writes (in Dutch) university newspaper Ad Valvas. There are said to be several dozen people present.
Eindhoven: onto the roof
In Eindhoven, demonstrators climbed onto the roof of a laboratory, where they unfurled banners along the façade. On the ground they were supported by a small group of sympathisers. The protest has since ended. The action was not without risk, writes university magazine Cursor: participants were warned about dangerous substances that could come out of the chimneys.
HOP, Bas Belleman/Delta, Saskia Bonger
- Read more about protest on campus in our dossier.
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