The occupation of the footbridge above Erasmusplein has ended. After a final warning from the Executive Board, the remaining protesters walked out on their own. No one was arrested.

The final consultation between the Executive Board and protesters in the footbridge could be clearly seen from Erasmusplein, where about forty protesters held a support demonstration.

In the presence of police and ME, Executive Board President Alexandra van Huffelen, Vice President Agnes Muskens and Rector José Sanders asked the protesters to leave one last time. If not, the police would intervene.

Soon after that, the twenty-one remaining protesters in the footbridge decided to walk out on their own, without the ME having to intervene. They came out arm in arm, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.

In the foodbridge, the ME made a brief round to inspect whether really everyone had left. ‘The protesters fortunately complied with the last order and went outside by themselves,’ said Agnes Muskens, Vice President of Radboud University, shortly after the protest ended. ‘No one is inside anymore.’

Overnight stay

Since yesterday afternoon, the protesters occupied the footbridge at Erasmusplein. They demanded that Radboud University sever ties with Israeli universities. The university reported the incident last night, but the police did not take action. The protesters spent the night in the footbridge, under surveillance of some campus security guards.

Today, late in the morning, the police presence on campus increased. The Lecture Hall Complex (Collegezalencomplex) remained closed today, lectures were rescheduled. No new protesters were allowed to enter, though several protesters walked out during the morning.

Police cars and ME vans

Around lunchtime, the number of parked police cars increased and some paths were cordoned off with police tape. The atmosphere on Erasmusplein became grim for a while and a minor skirmish occurred after some protesters tried to enter the building. But the police did not make any arrests.

Not much later, several vans of the ME appeared at the front of the Lecture Hall Complex, near the Mercatorpad. After this, the Executive Board, supported by about 20 ME officers, entered the building ‘for a final requisition’.

A few minutes later, the protesters came out, while sympathizers walked around the Lecture Hall Complex.

The police intervention was witnessed by dozens of students and staff. Shortly after the protesters walked out, the ME entered once more with a hefty bolt cutter. With a few remaining action signs they came outside, before driving away.

‘We did it, we were confirmed that everyone who was inside is now safely outside,’ one of the protesters shouted into a loudspeaker. Next to the Spar, they continued demonstrating for a while, until each went their separate ways.