The pro-Palestine activists of Eindhoven Student Encampment are clearly visible atop the Matrix building on the TU/e ​​campus. They are sitting and standing near the edge of the roof, wrapped in Palestinian scarves and carrying two large banners. "Ban war criminals, not activists" is written on one of them.

Mayor

Security and police are present at Matrix. Officer in Charge of the police, Frans Prinse, reports that the fifteen demonstrators are refusing to leave the roof.

“The mayor—who is also the head of the safety region and the only person authorized to end a demonstration—has officially ended the protest, and this has been communicated to the activists. To bring them safely down from the roof, a special police unit will need to be deployed.”

Safety is also the reason for ending the demonstration, Prinse continues. According to him, the demonstrators were offered an alternative location on the ground for their protest, but they declined. For now, the activists remain on the roof.

Even before the mayor ended the protest, the university had already ordered the demonstrators to leave due to safety concerns, TU/e spokesperson Ivo Jongsma states.

Career Expo

According to the demonstrators, the protest was prompted by the Career Expo—an annual student career fair currently taking place on campus—inviting several companies that collaborate with the Israeli military.

A group of protesters claiming to be part of the TU/e ​​community previously released a report on the various ties between Dutch technical universities and Israel and called for them to be severed. The fifteen activists on the roof are once again shouting through a megaphone that the university must stop this collaboration.

Activists’ spokesperson Jamah says: “Research groups and TU/e spin-offs collaborate through European Horizon projects with companies linked to Israeli businesses that also serve the military there.” According to the demonstrators, TU/e spin-offs Avular and Smart Photonics, both present at the Career Expo, fall into that category.

Campus ban

Recently, the university issued campus bans to activists on two occasions. Whether any of those individuals are present today is unknown. “We do not check identities; we do not have the authority for that. All the demonstrators on the roof are masked,” Jongsma says.

In general, he adds, TU/e aims to allow demonstrations as long as they remain within the limits of the demonstration protocol.

This article was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.