By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News
AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – Students and staff members at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) are recovering after an angry crowd of anti-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters stormed and vandalized the 18th-century Maagdenhuis (Maiden House), the UvA’s administrative complex.
In a statement seen by Worthy News on Wednesday, the UvA said the repairs to damages caused by the activists would cost an “enormous” amount. Worthy News saw pro-Hamas and pro-Palestine slogans painted on the historic walls of the building and on computers, while furniture had been destroyed.
Protesters demanded that the university cut all ties with Israeli universities over the war in Gaza.
Monday’s rally was organized by the activist group Amsterdam Student Encampment, though many spoke English. Numerous protesters carrying Palestinian flags and smoke flares in the same colors, participating in the violence, had their faces covered.
It prompted calls from Christian and rightwing legislators to ban masks and other face coverings at protests.
MORE PROTESTS
Pro-Palestine activists also rallied at Radboud University in the eastern city of Nijmegen, occupying a footbridge between two university buildings. They, too, demanded that their university sever all ties with Israeli institutions.
At least five people were seen being led away by police officers during the violence-tainted demonstration at the Maagdenhuis building in Amsterdam’s historical city center.
Riot police using batons clashed with a smaller group of several hundred students and activists outside the building, Worthy News observed.
A spokesperson for the Amsterdam mayor, police, and prosecutor told local media that protesters broke into offices in the Maagdenhuis, disabled cameras, and barricaded emergency doors. “A police officer was also hit in the face with an as yet unknown corrosive substance, which resulted in minor injuries.”
The Amsterdam Student Encampment group defended its actions, saying it did not cause “any unnecessary damage” to the building or personal belongings.
Activists “only added something to the rich history of the building” with the graffiti on the walls, it added.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that he offered to send U.S. troops into Mexico to help combat the country’s deadly drug cartels — but said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum turned him down because she is “afraid of the cartels.”
In a sweeping new effort to reduce the number of illegal immigrants in the country, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday it will pay a $1,000 reward plus travel assistance to migrants who voluntarily leave the United States through a new self-deportation initiative.
Iran has announced the successful test of a new medium-range ballistic missile—Qassem Basir—boasting advanced capabilities designed to evade some of the world’s most sophisticated air defense systems, including the U.S.-made THAAD, currently deployed in Israel.
Israel’s security cabinet has approved an expansive military operation in Gaza, dubbed “Operation Gideon’s Chariots,” with officials warning that unless a hostage deal is secured by the end of U.S. President Donald Trump’s upcoming Middle East visit, the offensive will begin with full force.
The Israeli Air Force, in coordination with the United States, launched a wide-scale aerial assault on Houthi targets in Yemen late Sunday night, following a ballistic missile strike near Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport.
There was more anxiety in Europe on Monday after U.S. President Donald J. Trump did not rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland, the world’s largest island and an autonomous territory within Denmark.
A young Christian man working as an assistant lineman at Pakistan’s Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) remained missing Sunday after he was abducted in the Pakistani province of Punjab, activists supporting his family told Worthy News.