Published on 07.05.2024
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the entrance hall of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) before noon on Tuesday. The Zurich municipal police intervened to evacuate them.
About 100 people gathered around 11:30 a.m. in the main hall of the ETH Zurich and sat on the floor. The demonstrators, among other things, chanted “Free Palestine” and spread a poster on the ground with the slogan “No Tech for Genocide”.
Police ultimatum
The ETH Zurich repeatedly asked the demonstrators to leave the premises, “but they did not comply,” the press service of the university said. The police gave the demonstrators an ultimatum, as a Keystone-ATS journalist observed on site. She gave them five minutes to leave the premises.
Most of the demonstrators then left. Shortly before 2:00 p.m., the police began to evacuate those who were still present. Shortly after 2:30 p.m., all the sit-in participants had been evacuated.
Take a stand against “genocide”
The sit-in was organized by a group called “Students for Palestine” (Zurich). He demanded that the ETHZ take a “clear position on the ongoing genocide in Gaza”.
Furthermore, the group called on the ETHZ for an “academic boycott” of Israeli institutions and companies that support the Israeli government. Finally, the ETH Zurich must demonstrate transparency and make public any cooperation with Israeli organizations.
Marxist groups
According to the ETHZ, “pro-Palestinian Marxist groups” organized this demonstration. The ETHZ “sees itself as a place where different opinions and perspectives can and should be expressed openly, but unauthorized actions are not accepted.” In addition, underlines the High School in a press release, its premises “are not available for political activism”.
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