Yemen’s Sanaa University stands in solidarity with Gaza protests at Western universities

By Mohammed Sameai

SANAA Yemen (AA) - Sanaa University in Yemen witnessed a solidarity protest Saturday with the Gaza Strip and students at Western universities who have been protesting for two weeks against the Israeli war on the enclave, according to Anadolu.

Hundreds of students and scholars participated in the protest organized by the University Council of Sanaa University.

Protesters at the largest universities in Yemen raised Palestinian flags and banners condemning “the genocidal war being committed by the Israeli occupation against the children and women of Gaza.”

A statement from the school praised the “honorable stances of students from American and European universities, as well as university professors and independent academics who moved to support the Palestinian people.”

The protesters commended “the noble stance of the students and their demand to stop the heinous massacres against the Palestinian people, despite the attacks and arrests they faced,” according to the statement.

It emphasized that “the spark of freedom starts from the youth, especially university students, around the world in support of the oppressed in Gaza.”

Protesters urged a continuation of the student movement and honorable stances against the Israeli war.

On April 18, students, professors and faculty members at universities opposed began a sit-in at the Columbia University campus in New York, demanding the school’s administration stop academic cooperation with Israeli universities and withdraw investments in companies supporting the occupation of Palestinian territories.

As police intervened and arrested dozens of protesters at American universities, the anger spread, extending protests to universities in France, Britain, Germany, Canada and India -- all witnessing supportive demonstrations for their counterparts at American universities, demanding an end to the war on Gaza and boycotting companies supplying Israel with weapons.

US authorities resorted to “severe repression and violence” to disperse university sit-ins, arresting more than 2,000 protesters until Thursday, according to figures published by US media outlets.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala