Pro-Palestine demonstrators occupy Drift 25 again

Around 20 pro-Palestine protesters forced their way into Drift 25 at 8:30 am. Once again, they are trying to force the Executive Board to sever all ties between Utrecht University (UU) and Israeli institutions.

The protesters are calling on the board not to wait for measures from the Dutch government or the European Union, and instead take the initiative to withdraw from European research projects involving Israel. 

Pro-Palestine activists have occupied the university building at Drift 25 several times. The last time they did so was last September.

Science Park
UU Encampment had already announced its intention to occupy several buildings at Utrecht Science Park (USP) this Wednesday. The protesters identified the Administration Building, Langeveld Building, Sjoerd Groenman Building and Van Unnik Building as targets.

Utrecht University then contacted the activists, as some of these buildings contain laboratories and other research facilities that are not accessible to unauthorised persons. An occupation would therefore "pose risks to both the activists themselves and other visitors," the university writes on the Intranet. UU has informed the action group about this, so that "they can choose a safe way to protest".

According to the spokesperson for UU Encampment, the action group ultimately decided to occupy Drift 25 again because they had a "harder time connecting with people" during previous protests at Utrecht Science Park. The spokesperson could not yet say whether the occupation at USP will proceed on Wednesday, but the protesters have indicated that they will not leave Drift 25 until UU negotiates with them. They are prepared to spend the night there.

The police have visited the site but will not intervene at this stage. The university is monitoring the situation. Almost all educational activities scheduled at Drift 25 have been moved to other buildings. A small number of classes had to be cancelled.