Dutch police end a pro-Palestinian demonstration at Amsterdam university

In messages posted overnight on social media X, police said they had to act to stop the event and dismantle tents that been set up by protesters, who used violence against police at the site.

 Demonstrators hold placards and Palestinian flags as they protest near the Portuguese Synagogue on the day of the opening of the National Holocaust Museum, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 10, 2024. (photo credit: REUTERS/HILDE VERWEIJ)
Demonstrators hold placards and Palestinian flags as they protest near the Portuguese Synagogue on the day of the opening of the National Holocaust Museum, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 10, 2024.
(photo credit: REUTERS/HILDE VERWEIJ)

Dutch riot police ended a pro-Palestinian demonstration at an Amsterdam university early on Tuesday, arresting some 125 people in sometimes violent clashes, authorities said.

In messages posted overnight on social media X, police said they had to act to stop the event and dismantle tents that been set up by protesters, who used violence against police at the site.

"The police's input was necessary to restore order. We see the footage on social media. We understand that those images may appear as intense," police said.

Fireworks shot at police officers

Local media showed demonstrators shooting fireworks at police officers but there were no immediate reports of injuries on either side.

"All is now quiet ... police stay in the vicinity of the Roeterseiland campus," police said later on X.

 Demonstrators hold Palestinian and Israeli flags as they gather in front of the National Holocaust Museum on the day of its opening, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW)
Demonstrators hold Palestinian and Israeli flags as they gather in front of the National Holocaust Museum on the day of its opening, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, March 10, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW)

Outgoing Education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said universities are a place for dialog and debate and he was sad to see that police had to intervene.

Student protests over the war and academic ties with Israel have begun to spread across Europe but have remained much smaller in scale than those seen in the United States.

Last Friday, police in Paris entered France's prestigious Sciences Po university and removed student activists who had occupied its buildings.

More than 100 students occupy the Ghent university, in Belgium, in both a climate and a Gaza protest that they want to prolong until Wednesday.