The Dutch police used a bulldozer to remove pro-Palestinian protestors from the University of Amsterdam and detained around 125 activists and protestors on Tuesday. It also released a statement on X that these steps were "necessary to restore order" as the protests had turned violent.
"The protest in this form created a very unsafe situation, partly due to the barricades that prevented emergency services from entering the site," the police statement said.
A university person also said, while they supported the protests throughout the day, they could not permit students to do the same through the night. These protesters were also demanding that the university terminate academic ties with Israel, according to The New Arab.
The students chanted pro-Palestinian slogans like "free Palestine" on the university campus.
Education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said he was saddened to see such violence in universities that are places for discourse and discussion.
