Gas tanks hurled at pro-Israel activists: Chaos ensues on Amsterdam campus

Ongoing chaotic scenes from universities across Amsterdam have gone viral in the past couple of days, reminiscent of the footage from US campuses, including encampments and violence toward Jewish students and police forces.

On Monday, riot police were called in to break up the encampment, and on Tuesday morning police officers were seen using batons against protesters who tried to block roads to the University.

Police used a bulldozer to knock down barricades early on Tuesday morning and detained 140 people in violent clashes, according to statements given to Reuters.

The main encampment was set in Roeterseiland campus, where pro-Palestinian activists hurled chairs and gas tanks at pro-Israel activists on campus and beat them with wooden planks.

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On Monday, the encampment received an honorary endorsement from Samidoun, designated by Israel as a terrorist organization for serving as a proxy of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).PFLP itself is designated as a terrorist organization according to the European Union, yet its tributary Samidoun is allowed to act freely across the continent, apart from in Germany, which banned Samidoun in October 2023 following years of German authorities monitoring its inflammatory, terror-supporting activities.

In its letter of endorsement, Samidoun accused Amsterdam universities of having “various ties to the genocidal apartheid state,” adding that “it’s high time that these ties are broken.”

The group lauded the encampment’s activity, threatening Dutch security forces that “attempts to repress or break up the encampment by the authorities will be met with resistance.”

Threats against the Dutch police

Another participant in the Amsterdam encampment is the Dutch branch of Students in Justice for Palestine, originally a US-based group which, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), has openly advocated for violence against Israelis, lauded terrorist acts, and spread hateful propaganda targeting Israel and Israelis.

According to the ISGAP report, a pattern of collaboration between SJP and extremist groups, as well as fiscal ties to American Muslims for Palestine, a group found to be linked to Hamas, is also noteworthy.

Their demands included compliance with disclosing ties with Israeli institutions and companies, boycotting all academic collaborations with Israel, and divesting from and cutting contracts with Israeli companies or international companies that “profit from genocide.”

Yesterday, following reports of the police making their way to the encampment to remove it, activists urged their colleagues, including non-students, to join them in order to obstruct police forces, also calling to bring in materials to barricade themselves on the site.

The encampment was forcefully evicted by Amsterdam’s law enforcement last night, with footage showing bulldozers used in the process as well.

André Flach, a politician from the Dutch Reformed Christian Party (SGP), said that “worldwide, there are very worrying developments at universities. Anti-Jewish sentiments are spreading. What happened in Amsterdam is completely unacceptable. These are not peaceful demonstrators, but rather disruptive actions endorsed by Samidoun, an organization that is forbidden in other countries.

“This undermining behavior deserves a strong condemnation from society and politics. And it is very important that the police intervene decisively to prevent recurrence. The SGP is concerned about the Jewish community in the Netherlands. They are part of us and we must do everything we can to protect them. I am deeply outraged by the fact that Jews are once again the object of hatred and violence, purely because they are Jewish,” Flach said.

Regarding the organizing parties, Flach added: “We should ban Samidoun in the Netherlands, just like Germany has already done. We shouldn’t enter into discussions with these types of organizations or take them seriously in any way. This also applies to any other extremist organizations that are involved.”

Raouf Leeraar, policy adviser at the Center for Information and Documentation Israel (CIDI), added that “since the 7th of October, Jewish students and staff have been victims of intimidation, threats, and an apathetic approach of most university boards. The encampment at the University of Amsterdam is a new step in this hate – an intimidation campaign towards Israel and all those who stand by her and support her.

“Already during the day, chants were sung about Zionism being the new Nazism, and a flag of Samidoun was spotted in the encampment. Samidoun is linked to the terrorist organization PFLP, and as such, the organization is banned in Germany. We sincerely hope that the Dutch government will soon follow suit,” Leeraar noted.

“In the evening, a group of pro-Israel students went to the camp to voice a different sound. But unfortunately, they were attacked by aggressive rioters causing one of them to end up in a hospital,” he detailed.

“Later that night,” Leeraar continued, “The Dutch police cleared the camp of all tents and people and strongly urged them not to return. We are happy that the mayor of Amsterdam and the Dutch police acted in line with the law and on behalf of public safety, while also creating a safe environment for Jewish students and staff of the university.”

This story is ongoing.

Reuters contributed to this report.