GENEVA, Switzerland: Swiss police conducted an operation early Tuesday to remove approximately 50 pro-Palestinian student protesters who had been occupying a Geneva university building for nearly a week.
Around 20 officers entered the UniMail building at around 0300 GMT to disperse the protesters, who were mostly sleeping at the time.
According to reports, the students were gathered, handcuffed, and then led to an underground parking garage before being taken away in vans.
Prior to the police intervention, university officials had requested the protesters to leave the premises and express their grievances through other means.
The student demonstrations, which have been part of a broader movement across Western Europe, have been calling for an end to the violence in Gaza and advocating for severing ties with Israel. Similar protests have been observed in other Swiss universities and polytechnic schools, including Lausanne, Berne, Basel, and Zurich.
The protests come amid escalating tensions in the Gaza Strip, where clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinian have resulted in significant casualties. The latest Gaza conflict, one of the bloodiest in history, has seen numerous civilian casualties, including women and children, prompting international outcry and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
