Swiss police forcibly end sit-in at University of Geneva, arrests made
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Swiss police forcibly dispersed a sit-in at the University of Geneva, where students were protesting in solidarity with Palestine.
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Students at the Swiss University of Geneva escalated their protests in solidarity with Palestine on May 14, 2024. (Social media)
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Geneva reported that Swiss police forcibly cleared the University of Geneva of students engaged in a sit-in to protest against the continued Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip and to express solidarity with Palestine. The mobilized police arrested several students in the process.
The University of Geneva's president had previously threatened to take all necessary measures to disperse the protesters, as the protest expanded with the involvement of three new universities joining the Geneva and Lausanne Universities in the sit-in movement supporting Gaza.
The University of Geneva has become a hub of activism, as thousands of students converged in its squares in a powerful display of solidarity for #Palestine and support for #Gaza.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 14, 2024
Their impassioned chants and placards articulate a resolute message of opposition to the ongoing… pic.twitter.com/2DjCR4oj6d
Pro-Palestinian students have been staging the sit-in at the University of Geneva for about a week, demanding the university call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and sever ties with Israeli universities and research institutes. The university escalated its response, earlier, on Monday, announcing plans to file a criminal complaint against the students for trespassing.
Similarly, the University of Basel issued a final warning to students occupying a lecture hall, cautioning that failure to end the sit-in could lead to disciplinary actions ranging from reprimands to expulsion.
Swiss website Watson, which is known for its pro-"Israel" stance, published an article inciting against Al Mayadeen earlier, claiming the network's articles "embarrass" the University of Lausanne. Moussa Assi, the director of Al Mayadeen's Geneva office, asserted that this incitement is part of a broader attempt to pressure the channel by undermining its support for the Palestinian cause.
Pro-Palestine protests staged during college commencements in US
Protests in support of Palestine were organized on Saturday across numerous US colleges and universities as they held commencement ceremonies, including dozens of graduating students at Virginia Commonwealth University walking out during a speech by Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
Protesters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison staged a quiet protest at Camp Randall Stadium. The Wisconsin State Journal published a photo of people walking into the stadium's rear with two waving Palestinian flags.
Marc Lovicott, a campus police spokesperson, stated that the group, which he assumed were students since they were wearing caps and gowns, "was kind of guided out but they left on their own," citing no arrests.
Social media footage showed dozens of students storming out of Duke University's graduating ceremony on Sunday, chanting "Free Palestine" in protest of the event's keynote speaker, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who has supported "Israel's" onslaught on Gaza as the war rages on and "Israel's" aggression continues to target innocent Palestinians.
Read more: Pro-'Israel' website doxing pro-Palestinian student protesters
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
