The Amsterdam police said Thursday that they ended the occupation of a building at the campus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) by pro-Palestinian student activists. This followed a week in which students rallied and demonstrated on campus, and were interrupted by riot police.

The demonstrations mainly aimed to protest the decision given by the university to join the European research projects involving Israeli researchers or companies. Although the university denied any contribution to military attacks by Israel, the group primarily organized by teachers and students continued to criticize the participation and Israel’s war in Gaza, as well as the university’s treatment of its students. The demonstrators hung out the the slogans of “Free Palestine” and “Shame on UvA.”

On Wednesday, riot police broke barricades which were constructed on the Binnengasthuis and clashed on Thursday with the demonstrators who gathered on the campus and numbered around 1,000. The police say such an intervention was dispatched in order to prevent escalation and restore peace and order. According to the police spokesperson, three demonstrators were arrested on Spuistraat for the suspect of insult and incitement. After that, the protest there was peacefully ended with a march.

The university announced Wednesday it was closing all of its buildings at least until Monday because of the intense activities, following the arrest of 36 people on its campus during the demonstration. However, it is still unclear if they would be able to reopen on Monday.