Students in Ireland and Switzerland join Gaza protest wave

May 4, 2024 - 21:18

Students at Trinity College Dublin and Lausanne University in Switzerland have staged protests against Israel's war in Gaza, joining a wave of demonstrations sweeping U.S. campuses.

In Dublin, students built an encampment on Friday that forced the university to restrict campus access on Saturday and close the Book of Kells exhibition, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions, Reuters reported. 

The camp was set up after the students' union said it had been fined 214,000 euros ($230,000) by the university for losses caused by protests in recent months, not exclusively over Gaza. The protesters were demanding that Trinity cut academic ties with Israel and divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Pro-Palestinian protests have also been held at universities in Australia and Canada.

In Lausanne, around 100 students occupied a building to back demands including an end to scientific cooperation with Israel.

"Palestinians have been dying for over 200 days, but we're not being heard," one protester told Swiss television on Saturday.
 

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