An empty pro-Palestine encampment in front of the University of Groningen’s Harmony building was cleared by police after protesters deserted it.
Setup on May 13th, the people at the pro-Palestine encampment sought to put pressure on the University of Groningen (RUG) to sever ties with companies and institutions they said were complicit in the genocide of people in Gaza. On Wednesday, protests were organised outside the confines of the encampment and protestors also entered a building belonging to the RUG. Police responded to the protests with force and several demonstrators were injured.
Later on Wednesday, the organisers of the encampment received word of the planned police action to clear away the encampment and decided to leave before that happened. Soon after, armed police descended on the encampment which they found deserted and started to clear it up. Police erected barriers in the street which blocked the view of their operation.
The clear-up took place a few hours after the Municipality of Groningen had adopted a motion that called on the mayor to sit down with the protestors and university to mediate the conflict. The motion was adopted with 31 votes in favour and eight against.