Europe student Gaza protests spread, sparking clashes, arrests

Students and employees of the University of Amsterdam take part in a march against the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. (Reuters)
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Updated 08 May 2024
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Europe student Gaza protests spread, sparking clashes, arrests

AMSTERDAM: Student protests to demand that universities sever ties with Israel over the Gaza war spread in Europe on Tuesday, sparking clashes and arrests as fresh protests broke out in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland and Austria.
Students at various European universities, inspired by ongoing demonstrations at US campuses, have been occupying halls and facilities, demanding an end to partnerships with Israeli institutions because of Israel’s punishing assault on Gaza.
Several hundred protesters resumed a demonstration on Tuesday evening around the University of Amsterdam campus, where police the previous night were filmed baton-charging them and smashing up their tents after they refused to leave the campus.
As protests resumed on Tuesday night, demonstrators erected barriers to access routes watched over by a heavy police deployment.
Police said in a statement that a total of 169 people had been arrested when officers broke up Monday night’s protests.
All had been released apart from two who remain in custody on suspicion of public disorder offenses.
Violence had briefly erupted on Monday evening when a small group of counter-protesters wielding flares stormed the main protest.
Around 50 demonstrators were also protesting on Tuesday outside the library in Utrecht University and a few dozen at the Technical University of Delft, according to local news agency ANP.
In the eastern German city of Leipzig, the university said in a statement that 50 to 60 people occupied a lecture hall on Tuesday afternoon, waving banners that read: “University occupation against genocide.”
Protesters barricaded the lecture hall doors from the inside and erected tents in the courtyard, according to the university.
The university called in the police in the afternoon, and filed a criminal complaint.
A pro-Israeli counter-protest also took place in the area, involving about 40 people, police said.
Criminal proceedings have been initiated against 13 people who were in the lecture hall on suspicion of trespassing. No arrests have been made so far.
Earlier, at Berlin’s Free University, police cleared a demonstration after up to 80 people erected a protest camp in a courtyard of the campus.
The protesters, some of whom wore the keffiyeh scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian cause, sat in front of tents and waved banners.
They later tried to enter rooms and lecture halls and occupy them, according to the university, which said it then called in the police to clear the protest.
The university said property was damaged while classes in some buildings were suspended for the day.
Berlin police said they made some arrests for incitement to hatred and trespassing.
In Paris, police on Tuesday twice intervened at Paris’s prestigious Sciences Po university to disperse about 20 students who had barricaded themselves in the university’s main hall.
Police moved in to allow other students to take their exams and made two arrests, according to Paris prosecutors. The university said the exams were able to proceed without incident.
Police have intervened several times over the past week at Sciences Po, where protesters are demanding the university reveal its partnerships with Israeli institutions. Some 13 students are on a hunger strike, according to the university.
At the nearby Sorbonne university building, police moved on Tuesday evening to eject about a hundred students who had occupied an amphitheater for two hours to protest about Gaza, police sources said.
In Switzerland, protests on Tuesday spread to three universities in Lausanne Geneva and Zurich.
The University of Lausanne said in a statement that it “considers that there is no reason to cease these relations” with Israeli universities as protesters demand.
In Austria, dozens of protesters have been camped on the campus of Vienna University, putting up tents and stringing up banners since late on Thursday.
The war in the Gaza Strip was sparked by an unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed at least 34,789 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.


Killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank sparks condemnation

Updated 28 sec ago
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Killing of Palestinian activist in West Bank sparks condemnation

  • Amnesty International condemns the killing as a “cold-blooded” act
  • French foreign ministry calls settler violence “acts of terrorism,” warns of increasing sanctions against Israeli government officials if attacks continue

LONDON: Rights groups and diplomats have condemned the killing of Palestinian activist and journalist Awda Al-Hathaleen, who contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” as calls grow for accountability over increasing settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

Al-Hathaleen was shot in the chest on Monday during a raid by Israel settlers in Umm Al-Khair village in the South Hebron Hills. One of the settlers involved in the attack was identified as Yinon Levi, who has been sanctioned by the UK and the EU, while US President Donald Trump rescinded restrictions at the beginning of his presidency this year.

In a statement on Wednesday, Amnesty International condemned the killing as a “cold-blooded” act and “a brutal reminder of the relentless violence faced by Palestinian communities.”

The organization’s senior director for research, advocacy, policy and campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, urged an independent international investigation into his death and growing settler violence in the territory.

Describing the situation in the West Bank as state impunity for Israeli settler violence, Rosas called out Israeli authorities for what she described as a “deliberate failure” to investigate settler attacks.

She said an international inquiry “must address the role of Israeli authorities” in fueling settler violence against Palestinians, pointing to the recurrent failure to ensure justice and protect Palestinians’ lives.

Israel authorities said Levi was arrested in relation to his alleged responsibility for the killing, but after a court hearing he was released to house arrest as investigations continue.

Amensty International’s Rosas said Al-Hathaleen, who had recently briefed UK politicians on threats to his life, “was entitled to protection. His killing is the cruel consequence of Israel’s sustained policy of forcibly expulsing Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank, including Masafer Yatta,” Rosas added.

“Awda Al-Hathaleen’s killing is not the first, but it must be the last.”

Al-Hathaleen, a father of three and prominent human rights defender from the Masafer Yatta region, was a central voice in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” which documented the ongoing displacement and harassment of Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

His death comes during a sharp incease in settler-led assaults and Palestinian casualties in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza. At least 1,009 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank since October 2023.

Rights groups have repeatedly said that Israeli settlers, often accompanied by the army, have escalated attacks and land seizures in recent months with little or no accountability.

Israeli human rights organization, Rabbis for Human Rights, called Al-Hathaleen’s murder “the outcome of decades of unchecked settler violence and a system that grants total impunity to those who carry it out.”

In a tribute, the organization said Al-Hathaleen “stood at the forefront of the struggle against home demolitions and settler violence.”

“He often welcomed delegations of rabbis, giving them tours of the village and sharing its history with deep generosity and courage. He was a longtime partner in our humanitarian aid work and worked closely with Rabbis for Human Rights for many years. His steadfast presence and leadership were a source of strength to all of us.”

The rights group vowed to “stand with the people of Umm al-Kheir as they resist a system that seeks to erase them - as they fight to stay on their land, to live, and to thrive.”

The French foreign ministry released a statement on Tuesday calling settler violence “acts of terrorism,” and warning of increasing sanctions against Israeli government officials if such attacks continue.

It condemned the rising settler attacks and urged Israeli authorities to “uphold their responsibilities and immediately punish the perpetrators of such violence, which is continuing with impunity, and protect Palestinian civilians.”

The ministry reiterated France’s stance against the expansion of illegal settlements “which is contrary to international law, as the International Court of Justice concluded in its advisory opinion of July 19, 2024.”

In February last year, France sanctioned extremist Israeli settlers guilty of violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank. There are 28 individuals who face an administrative ban on entering the country.


UAE president commends UK prime minister on statement to recognize Palestinian state

Updated 10 min 41 sec ago
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UAE president commends UK prime minister on statement to recognize Palestinian state

  • Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahya, Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasize need for just, lasting peace between Israelis, Palestinians through 2-state solution

LONDON: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan discussed with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer the developments in the Middle East, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and their commitment to enhancing regional security and stability.

During the call on Wednesday, the two sides emphasized the need for a just, lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians through a two-state solution in order to promote stability and a better future for the region.

He praised the British prime minister’s statements on Tuesday on recognizing the state of Palestine in the upcoming UN General Assembly in September.

Sheikh Mohammed called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to help residents in the Palestinian coastal enclave.

The two leaders also discussed cooperation and ways to enhance ties between Abu Dhabi and London in various sectors.


22 killed in Angola fuel hike unrest since Monday

Updated 14 min 51 sec ago
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22 killed in Angola fuel hike unrest since Monday

  • Sporadic gunfire was heard across Luanda and several other cities on Monday and Tuesday as people looted shops and clashed with police when violence erupted during a taxi strike

LUANDA: Unrest in Angola following protests against a fuel price hike has killed 22 people since Monday, the interior minister said, as calm returned to the capital.
Sporadic gunfire was heard across Luanda and several other cities on Monday and Tuesday as people looted shops and clashed with police when violence erupted during a taxi strike.
The strike was the latest in a series of protests after the price of fuel was hiked from 300 to 400 kwanzas ($0.33 to $0.43) a liter on July 1, squeezing living costs for the millions of poor in one of Africa’s top oil producers.
“We regret 22 deaths, including one police officer,” Interior Minister Manuel Homem told reporters in a press conference on Wednesday.
Nearly 200 people were injured in the violence, he said, and more than 1,200 people had been arrested.
Shops and businesses remained closed in Luanda on Wednesday as security forces patrolled the city.
The streets were largely empty as people stayed home, although there were some queues outside petrol stations and shops, AFP reporters said.
Police in the southern city of Lubango confirmed separately that a police officer had shot and killed a 16-year-old on Tuesday.
The teenager was part of a group attempting to invade the headquarters of the ruling MPLA party, a statement said.
Anger against the price hike was also the focus of a demonstration of around 2,000 people in Luanda on Saturday, with protesters also alleging government corruption.
There had been similar protests the two previous weekends.
Four people were killed on the first day of the unrest on Monday, according to police.
Local media reported other victims on Tuesday.
TV Nzinga showed women weeping over a body in a street in Luanda’s central Cazenga area as people ran out of a supermarket carrying food and goods. The report did not say how the person was killed.
In the same area, a young man was killed near a supermarket, apparently by a stray bullet, an AFP reporter said.
Protests and unrest were also reported outside the capital, including in the city of Huambo, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) north of Luanda, police said.
Images on social media also showed protests in the coastal city of Benguela, south of the capital.
The Portuguese-speaking country of more than 36 million has a high inflation rate that neared 20 percent in June, while the unemployment rate hit almost 30 percent, according to the national statistics authority.


IndiGo’s revenue slows as India-Pakistan tensions, Air India crash weigh

Updated 16 min 37 sec ago
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IndiGo’s revenue slows as India-Pakistan tensions, Air India crash weigh

  • India’s largest carrier by market share reports 4.7% rise in revenue to $2.34 billion in April-June quarter
  • CEO says April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir, border clashes caused ” hundreds of cancelations”

NEW DELHI: Budget airline IndiGo posted slower first-quarter revenue growth on Wednesday, weighed down by subdued demand following border tensions between India and Pakistan and a fatal Air India crash during the quarter.

India’s largest carrier by market share reported a 4.7% rise in revenue to 204.96 billion rupees ($2.34 billion) in the April-June quarter, a sharp slowdown from the 17.3% growth logged a year ago.

“The June quarter was shaped by significant external challenges that created headwinds for the entire aviation sector,” Chief Executive Pieter Elbers said in a statement.

An April attack on civilians in Indian Kashmir, followed by border clashes between India and Pakistan led to “hundreds and hundreds of cancelations,” Elbers said in a post-earnings media call.

India has blamed Islamabad for the attack, which the latter has denied.

Shortly after, an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad and killed 260 people in June, spurring flying anxiety among many travelers.

“All in all, that has led ... to (have) some impact on the market,” Elbers said, but added that so far, the second quarter appears to be stabilizing.

Despite the recent slowdown, IndiGo has benefited from rising incomes, sustained post-pandemic domestic travel demand, along with continued fleet and network expansion.

Still, the company posted a lower quarterly profit, bogged down by ballooning foreign exchange losses.

Its yield — the average money earned from a passenger for every kilometer traveled — fell 5%.

The airline’s first-quarter capacity — measured in available seat kilometers — grew 16.4% on-year.

The firm had projected a “mid-teens percentage range” growth in May.


Trump envoy Witkoff heading to Israel for Gaza talks, Axios reports

Updated 1 min 26 sec ago
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Trump envoy Witkoff heading to Israel for Gaza talks, Axios reports

  • Witkoff is expected to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza

WASHINGTON: US envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Israel on Wednesday for talks on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Axios reported, citing two US officials.