The wave of university camps in solidarity with Palestine arrives in Catalonia (English/Catalan)

from thefreeonline on 7th May ’24 by La Directa..

The rally convened on Monday afternoon at the Raval campus of the University of Barcelona , followed by the occupation and Solidarity Camp, represents another step in university, national and international pressure to demand the severing of academic, political and business relations with the State of Israel

Camps at universities in solidarity with Palestine arrive this Monday in Catalonia. Students, teachers and administrative staff of Catalan universities are called for a rally at the Raval campus of the University of Barcelona, which s served as the starting point of “a mobilization process” for all public Catalan universities.

Although, for the time being, it has been decided that the camping at the UB will work as a unit, the organization does not rule out similar actions in other faculties in the country in the coming days.

At the same time as the camp, the organizers of the mobilization – the Student Committee in Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Universities with Palestine and the University Network for Palestine – have also prepared activities until Wednesday, as part of the “Days against genocide”, which they include talks, concerts and assemblies where the next steps will be decided.

The camping at the UB is, for now, a unitary action of the Catalan universities, although the organization does not rule out similar actions in other faculties of the country

For this Wednesday, an extraordinary cloister of the UB has been convened, in which it is expected to discuss, and perhaps approve, a motion in support of the Palestinian people and for the “breaking of institutional and academic relations with universities, research centers, companies and other Israeli institutions”, as well as with the requirement to do the same on the part of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the government of the Spanish State.

The text, presented by Universitats per Palestina and Grup Palestina UB, has already been approved by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, and it is expected that the Autonomous University of Barcelona will also do so during the month of May.

In the case of the UB, they point to the agreements that this university has with companies such as Abengoa, Carrefour, Siemens, AXA or HP.

The convenors demand that Catalan public universities “condemn the massacre and break relations with the Zionist State and the other entities that do business there”

These agreements are part of what support groups for the population of Palestine consider “a face wash and endorsement by the universities towards the State of Israel”.

For this reason, they demand that the Catalan public universities “stand with the Palestinian people, condemn the massacre and break relations with the Zionist State and the other entities that do business there”.

Global and expanding university pressure

The camps in support of the population in Palestine, which began in the United States, have already spread around the world to denounce both the complicity of the universities themselves with the State of Israel and the role of the governments in the genocide, including the supply of weapons

In many cases, the response of the different rectors has been to allow the police to enter the campuses to violently evict the people encamped.

In the United States, it is estimated that more than 1,300 people have been arrested. In addition, in some places, such as Columbia University, demonstrators have suffered attacks from pro-Israeli groups.

Since October, the Israeli bombings have been indiscriminate. They have destroyed thousands of homes and infrastructure, including all the universities

This same university has already announced the suspension as students and the ban on entering the academic premises of many of the participants in the protests.

In the case of Spain, the first camp was at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Valencia, where dozens of members of the educational community have been there for a week.

These camps have managed to keep the media focus on what is happening in Gaza, where more than 34,000 people have been killed in half a year.

Since the Hamas attack last October, the Israeli bombings have been indiscriminate. They have destroyed thousands of homes and infrastructure, including hospitals and all universities.

Boycott Divestments and Sanctions State of Israel Gaza pacifism Palestine Solidarity University Network For Palestine

L’onada d’acampades universitàries en solidaritat amb Palestina arriba a Catalunya

La concentració convocada aquest dilluns a la tarda al campus del Raval de la Universitat de Barcelona suposa un pas més en la pressió universitària, del país i internacional, per exigir tallar les relacions acadèmiques, polítiques i empresarials amb l’Estat d’Israel Acampada a la Universitat de València en solidaritat amb el poble palestí, iniciada a finals d’abril | Lucas Guerra

Nacho Ibáñez geoconflictos

PUBLICAT: maig 6, 2024

Les acampades a les universitats en solidaritat amb Palestina arriben aquest dilluns a Catalunya. Estudiants, docents i personal administratiu de les universitats catalanes criden a una concentració avui a la tarda al campus del Raval de la Universitat de Barcelona, que ha de servir com a punt de partida “d’un procés de mobilització” al conjunt de les universitats públiques catalanes.

Tot i que, de moment, s’ha decidit que l’acampada a la UB funcioni de forma unitària, des de l’organització no descarten accions similars en altres facultats del país en els pròxims dies.

Alhora que l’acampada, les convocants de la mobilització —el Comitè Estudiantil en Solidaritat amb el Poble Palestí, Universitats amb Palestina i la Xarxa Universitària per Palestina— també han preparat activitats fins dimecres, dins de les “Jornades contra el genocidi”, que inclouen xerrades, concerts i assemblees en què es decidiran els següents passos.

L’acampada a la UB és, per ara, una acció unitària de les universitats catalanes, tot i que l’organització no descarta accions similars en altres facultats del país

Per aquest dimecres, hi ha convocat un claustre extraordinari de la UB, en què s’espera discutir, i potser aprovar, una moció en suport al poble palestí i pel “trencament de relacions institucionals i acadèmiques amb universitats, centres de recerca, empreses i altres institucions israelianes”, així com amb l’exigència de fer el mateix per part de la Generalitat de Catalunya i el govern de l’Estat espanyol.

El text, presentat per Universitats per Palestina i el Grup Palestina UB, ja ha estat aprovat en el claustre de la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, i s’espera que també ho faci la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona durant aquest mes de maig.

En el cas de la UB, assenyalen els convenis que aquesta universitat té amb empreses com Abengoa, Carrefour, Siemens, AXA o HP.

Les convocants exigeixen a les universitats públiques catalanes que “condemnin la massacre i trenquin relacions amb l’Estat sionista i la resta d’entitats que hi fan negoci”

Aquests acords formen part del que els grups de suport a la població de Palestina consideren “una rentada de cara i aval per part de les universitats cap a l’Estat d’Israel”.

Per això, exigeixen a les universitats públiques catalanes que “es posicionin al costat del poble palestí, condemnin la massacre i trenquin relacions amb l’Estat sionista i la resta d’entitats que hi fan negoci”.

Pressió universitària global i en expansió

Les acampades en suport de la població a Palestina iniciades als Estats Units, s’han estès ja arreu del món per denunciar tant la complicitat de les mateixes universitats amb l’Estat d’Israel com el paper dels governs en el genocidi, inclòs el subministrament d’armes.

En molts casos, la resposta dels diferents rectorats ha estat la de permetre l’entrada de la policia als campus per a desallotjar amb violència les persones acampades. Als Estats Units es calcula que han estat detingudes més de 1.300 persones. A més, en alguns llocs, com la Universitat de Colúmbia, les manifestants han patit atacas de grups proisraelians.

Des del mes d’octubre, els bombardejos israelians han estat indiscriminats. Han destruït milers d’habitatges i infraestructures, incloses totes les universitats

Aquesta mateixa universitat ja ha anunciat la suspensió com a estudiants i la prohibició d’entrar als recintes acadèmics a moltes de les participants en les protestes.

En el cas de l’Estat espanyol, la primera acampada ha estat a la a la Facultat de Filosofia de la Universitat de València, on desenes de membres de la comunitat educativa hi són des de fa una setmana.

Aquestes acampades han aconseguit que no desaparegui del focus mediàtic el que està succeint a Gaza, on han estat assassinades més de 34.000 persones en mig any. Des de l’atac de Hamas el passat mes d’octubre, els bombardejos israelians han estat indiscriminats. Han destruït milers d’habitatges i infraestructures, inclosos els hospitals i totes les universitats.

Boicot Desinversions i Sancions Estat d’Israel Gaza pacificisme Palestina Solidaritat Xarxa Universitària Per Palestina

Israel launches great Rafah massacre-rejects Ceasefire and seizes key Gaza border crossing

from thefreeonline On 7 May 2024 by Aljazeera News

Fierce bombing and Closure of crossing begins Rafah Massacre on 1,4 million refugees despite Hamas accepting Ceasefire deal...

Where do we go? Thousands flee as Israeli genocide spreads to Rafah

Israeli forces have seized control of Gaza’s Rafah border crossing, cutting off a vital route for humanitarian aid and potential sanctuary for civilians from a building offensive-…

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had seized “operational control” of the Gaza side of the border post, which links the besieged enclave with Egypt. The closure of the crucial passage and positioning of tanks in the centre of Rafah is seen as a demonstration of Israel’s determination to press on with an assault on the southern city despite ongoing truce talks.

Photos: Belgian and Dutch students join Gaza protest wave

Palestinians ‘trapped and attacked’ as Israeli forces seize Rafah crossing

The 401st Brigade entered the Rafah crossing early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, closing a route vital for the aid entering Gaza and any civilians able to flee the fighting to Egypt.

Palestinians inspect the area after an Israeli strike on a residential building in Rafah, Gaza, on May 7. Ismael Abu Dayyah/AP

The military claimed that the crossing was “being used for terrorist purposes”, alleging that Hamas’s mortar attack on Sunday on the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, which remains closed, was launched from the vicinity. However, it has not so far provided evidence.

سلسلة غارات عنيفة من الاحتلال الإسرائيلي على رفح#حرب_غزة pic.twitter.com/bMADYKRZcV
— الجزيرة فلسطين (@AJA_Palestine) May 7, 2024

Tweet translation: A series of violent raids on Rafah by the Israeli occupation.

The operation came amid an overnight assault on eastern parts of the city. Warplanes pounded residential homes, killing at least 12 people.

Israel’s military said in a statement it had struck numerous Hamas targets in eastern Rafah, killing about 20 fighters.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Crossings Authority acknowledged to The Associated Press news agency that Israeli forces had seized the crossing and closed it for the time being.

‘Chaos’ in central Gaza as Palestinians fleeing Rafah seek shelter

Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, Gaza

It is not only people on the eastern side of Rafah that are evacuating … a lot of people from different areas [of Rafah] that were not designated as red are also evacuating to the middle area and Khan Younis.

It’s packed. People are not even finding a place to set up a tent. They are setting up their tents near the beach, very close to the coastline, on agricultural land.

Two hospitals are also evacuating their patients to the central area. The situation is chaos. All the streets are filled with cars and people putting all their stuff on their cars.

You can see mats and pillows on every car that is coming from the south. Palestinians do not know what they’re going to do, where they’re going to settle, and they’re 100 percent sure that Deir el-Balah is also not safe.

There’s no guarantee that evacuating from Rafah will keep them safe from the Israeli air strikes and shelling and artillery.

“It’s been a very difficult night,” reported Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud from Rafah. “It’s been very violent, very bloody and full of destruction.”

The assault comes despite Hamas having said on Monday that it had agreed with the terms of a truce deal hammered out by mediators.

However, pressed by hardline nationalist coalition partners who have demanded a full offensive on Rafah, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears set to press on regardless.

INTERACTIVE-GAZA-INCURSION MAP-MAY7-2024-1715066795

Trapped

Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah that the Israeli military carried out an incursion on the eastern side of Rafah, during which there was a heavy exchange of fire with Hamas fighters amid an intense bombing campaign, with the main objective of seizing control of the crossing.

The Israeli control of the border post “is devastating because … Palestinians will no longer be able to leave the territory”, he said.

Despite urgent warnings from its closest allies that an offensive on the city risks huge numbers of civilian casualties, Israel insists that its plans will allow it to clear Rafah and press on to attack the Hamas command and fighters there.

“The Rafah offensive has started again, in spite of all the requests of the international community, the US, the European Union member states, everybody asking Netanyahu not to attack,” Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, told journalists on Tuesday. “I am afraid that this is going to cause again a lot of casualties, civilian casualties. Whatever they say,” he said, adding, “there are no safe zones in Gaza.”

Israeli forces whipped up panic on Monday as they ordered 1.4 million or so Palestinians in Rafah – most of whom are displaced following previous instructions from the Israeli military – to evacuate.

The Israeli army reiterated on Tuesday that it has “encouraged” displaced people and international humanitarian organisations operating in eastern Rafah to “temporarily evacuate”.

However, people sheltering in Rafah, amid poor conditions with little shelter, food, or medicine, have few places to go.

The closure of the border crossing only threatens to worsen those shortages and trap more people close to the fighting.

Sources from three humanitarian relief agencies told the Reuters news agency that aid shipments had been halted due to the closure of the crossing.

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The latest Israeli operation sees them being pushed towards al-Mawasi on the coast, where the military says it has set up field hospitals, tents, and medical supplies.

“The Israeli military is … strategically cutting off the Gaza Strip and sealing it off from the region,” suggested Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud.

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