Geneva police shut down another pro-Palestine student protest

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - Hours after a pro-Palestinian encampment was shut down in the University of Geneva, another campus protest in the Swiss city began and ended after the intervention of authorities.

Dozens of students gathered early on Tuesday at the Geneva High School of Landscape, Engineering and Architecture (HEPIA) to demand an end to the "genocide" in Gaza.

They hung Palestinian flags and banners reading "Free Palestine" and "Silent High Schools" on the walls of the university-level institution's lobby.

Police arrived at the scene soon after, with students agreeing to leave the premises and end the protest peacefully.

In a press release, Geneva's cantonal police force said that it had intervened in the protest shortly after 2.30 p.m. after the school's director asked them to vacate the individuals from the area.

"Arriving on site, the cantonal police of Geneva noted the presence of individuals occupying the perimeter of the HEPIA," said the statement, adding that the demonstrators left the scene "freely and calmly" after a verbal exchange between the two sides.

More than 35,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and 78,400 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.