EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
From France to Australia, university students are part of pro-Palestinian protests, while students from Colombia continue to encamp.
Clashes between students and police have been reported across the United States as university protests escalate.
What began as Columbia University's Gaza Solidarity Camp, where students camp out on campus to force their institution to divest from companies associated with Israel, has since spread to campuses in California, Texas and other states.
Now more than 20 US universities are protesting Israel's war in Gaza, where Israel's military offensive has killed more than 34,000 people and its blockade has caused famine.
But the protests are not limited to the US, students around the world have been demonstrating in support of Gaza since the war broke out on October 7. After the camps in Colombia, the protests further spread to universities from France to Australia. Here's everything you need to know about student protests for Gaza outside the US:
Which world universities are holding pro-Palestinian protests?
- In Paris, France, Sorbonne University students took to the streets. In addition, Sciences Po's Palestine Committee is organizing a protest where students set up about 10 tents on Wednesday. Despite the police crackdown, protesters rallied on Thursday.
- In Australia, students from the University of Sydney set up pro-Palestinian camps on Tuesday and continued their protests on Friday. University of Melbourne students also set up tents on the south lawn of their main campus on Thursday.
- In Rome, Italy, students from Sapienza University organized demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes on April 17 and 18.
- Starting on the night of April 19, students from the Warwick Stands With Palestine group from the University of Warwick occupy the campus square in England, United Kingdom. A protest broke out in Leicester, England on Monday, in which students from the University of Leicester Palestine Society also participated.
- Last month, students from the University of Leeds occupied a campus building to protest the university's involvement in Israel.
What are the demands of student protesters outside the US?
Hicham, a student protesting at Sciences Po, which is also called the Paris Institute of Political Studies, told Al Jazeera: “We have several demands, but one of them is to start vetting all the ties they (Sciences Po) have with the State of Israel, which (are ) academic and financial'.
He added that it is “extremely difficult” to talk about Palestine in France because of the way the police react.
In addition, the organizers want Sciences Po to condemn Israel's actions.
Sorbonne students call on the French government to help the Palestinians.
Sydney University students are demanding their institute cut ties with Israeli universities and arms manufacturers, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Warwick students are calling for the university to divest from companies they say are funding “genocide” perpetrated by Israel, Warwick's student newspaper The Boar has reported. The Boar quoted an unnamed student protester as saying that while they had been emboldened by the U.S. protests, they planned to take action regardless.
A protest in Leicester took place outside the Elbit Systems UK drone factory on Monday, calling for the factory to be shut down. Student protesters in Leeds last month demanded the suspension of Jewish chaplain Zecharia Deutsch, who served in the Israeli army during the Gaza war.
Is there a police crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters outside the US?
On Wednesday, police broke up a Sciences Po demonstration after the institute made “numerous attempts” to evacuate students peacefully, AFP reported.
The Palestinian Committee of the Institute issued a statement on Thursday that the protesters were “carried out of the school by more than 50 members of the security forces”, adding that “around 100” police officers were also waiting for them outside.
Hicham said he and his classmates had been occupying their school for three days. “We went into one building, they (the university) called the cops on us, we had to get out, so we went into the main historic building,” he said.
“But I think the more repression there is, the more people mobilize,” he said. “There were maybe 300 of us before, (but) now there are 600 of us.”
Students at the Sorbonne were also surrounded by riot police, as Al Jazeera video showed on Thursday.
“It will continue until we have an open and serious conversation about this issue,” a student at Sorbonne University told Al Jazeera.
