Students in the UK, including those in Cambridge and Oxford, have started protests for solidarity with the Palestinian people and fellow students around the world.
Similar to the protests in the USA, Canada and France, in the camps set up on campuses, students want Israel to be boycotted and investments in this country to be withdrawn.
Students set up camps at the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool and Edinburgh.
In a joint statement made by the organizers of Oxford Action for Palestine and Cambridge for Palestine, “More than 100 universities around the world have taken bold and urgent action decisions for Palestine. As members of these institutions, we do not accept our universities to be a partner in Israel's war crimes against the Palestinian people, and we refuse to remain a spectator to Israel's legitimization of its campaign of mass massacre, hunger and displacement.”
Protesters in Oxford and Cambridge arrived on Monday morning with supplies, sleeping bags and banners. On the banners, the slogans "There is no university left in Gaza" and "Give up genocide" were written.
A large banner with the words 'Welcome to the public university for Palestine' was hung outside the camp set up in front of the Pitt Rivers museum in Oxford.
Support for actions from Oxford faculty members
They also demanded that Oxford and Cambridge universities withdraw from all companies linked to the Israeli genocide and occupation, help rebuild Gaza's education system, end institutional relations with Israeli universities, and protect the safety of students and staff involved in pro-Palestinian actions.
More than 170 Oxford faculty members and employees have signed a letter supporting the camp and its goals.
Activities at the camp, which was established at King's Parade in central Cambridge, included 'de-tension' training for protesters, a rally and a dinner funded by the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign. According to the news in The Guardian, the mass fundraising campaign raised around £6,000 for vital supplies that would be necessary for the camp to be long-term, permanent and effective.
Other universities that have participated in the action so far include University College London in the UK, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea, Goldsmiths and Bristol, as well as Sciences Po in France, Trinity College Dublin in Ireland, University of Lausanne in Switzerland and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Police distributed a camp in Berlin
On Tuesday, German police dispelled protests by hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists occupying the courtyard of Berlin's Free University earlier in the day.
Protesters had set up about 20 tents and formed a chain of people around the tents.
Police called on speakers to leave the campus. It was also seen that the police carried some students, and there were some scambles between police officers and protesters.
Law enforcement agencies used pepper spray against some protesters. School administrators said in a statement that the protesters rejected any dialogue and therefore called the police to evacuate the campus.
125 detentions in Amsterdam
Earlier on Tuesday, Dutch police detained about 125 activists while dismantling a similar pro-Palestinian demonstration camp at the University of Amsterdam.
Amsterdam police, in a statement on social media platform X, claimed that after the protests turned violent, their actions were 'necessary to maintain order'.
Images released by the national broadcaster NOS show police using a mechanical bucket to demolish the barricades, and cops with batons and shields took action to beat some protesters and dismantled the tents.According to the news of NOS, the protesters had created barricades from wooden pallets and bicycles.
Demonstrators occupied a small island of the university on Monday, calling for a cut-of-academic relations with Israel over the war in Gaza.
Police, who ended the protest in Amsterdam early Tuesday afternoon, closed the area with metal fences.
In a statement from the school, it was stated that police ended the demonstration on the Roeterseiland campus on Tuesday night “due to public order and security concerns”.
In the statement, “The war between Israel and Hamas has a great impact on students and personnel. We share the anger and surprise about the war and understand the protests on this issue. We emphasize that establishing a dialogue on this issue within the university is the only solution," it was said.
Actions continue in Finland and Denmark as well
Dozens of protesters from the Students for Palestine solidarity group in Finland set up a camp in front of the Helsinki University's main building, saying they would stay there until the university, Finland's largest academic institution, cut off its academic ties with Israeli universities.
In Denmark, students set up a pro-Palestine camp at the University of Copenhagen and set up about 45 tents outside the campus of the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The university said students could protest, but called on them to respect the rules on the campus area.
In the statement, it was argued that the administration 'should not and should not be able to express its opinions on behalf of university employees and students on political issues, including the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestinian territories'.
Demonstrations in Bologna, Rome and Naples
In Italy, students of the University of Bologna, one of the oldest universities in the world, set up a tent camp over the weekend to demand the end of the war in Gaza while Israel prepares for an attack on Rafah.
Groups of students held similar protests in Rome and Naples, which were also largely peaceful.
More than a dozen tents were set up in the square, named after a university student who fought against fascist rule during World War II. Banners with the words 'Student Intifada' also stood out in tents, some of which were decorated with Palestinian flags.
Protest at Macron's school in Paris too
In Paris, groups of students called for a meeting in solidarity with the Palestinians on Tuesday.
On Friday, French police 'peacefully' removed dozens of students who gathered to support Palestinians at the Paris Institute for Political Studies, known as Sciences Po.
On Tuesday, students of the prestigious institute, including graduates from French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and President Emmanuel Macron, were seen entering the campus unhindered to take exams while waiting at police entrances.
Last week, protests were held at several other universities in France, including Lille and Lyon. Macron's office said police were asked to remove students from 23 areas on French campuses.