Police break up pro-Palestinian student protest in Berlin as demonstrations spread across Europe

Amsterdam: German police on Tuesday broke up a protest by several hundred pro Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard at Berlin s Free Univ...

Amsterdam: German police on Tuesday broke up a protest by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard at Berlin’s Free University earlier in the day, the latest such action by authorities as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread across Europe.

Some demonstrators have even called for a break in academic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza.

In Berlin, the protesters had put up about 20 tents and formed a human chain around them. Most had covered their faces with medical masks and draped kufiyah scarves around their heads, shouting slogans such as "Viva, viva Palestina.”

Berlin police called on the students via loudspeakers to leave the campus. Police were seen carrying some students away as scuffles erupted between officers and protesters.

Police also used pepper spray against some of the protesters. The school's administrators said in a statement that the protesters had rejected any kind of dialogue and they had therefore called in police to clear the campus.