Hundreds of Arab and Jewish students gathered on Tuesday, April 8, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to protest the war in Gaza as they accused Israel of committing genocide. The university initially approved the anti-war protest but then decided to cancel it due to the “inability to guarantee the protesters’ safety” and “concerns about a violent eruption during the demonstrations.”
On Tuesday, Hadash students’ cells, in the universities of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv and Haifa, together with partners in the struggle against fascism and occupation – initiated a series of protests against silencing “massacre and war.” The protesters waving signs and banners in Hebrew and Arabic that read, “Stop the War” and “Stop the genocide.”
Hundreds of Arab and Jewish students gathered at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem to protest the war in Gaza, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (Photo: Voices Against War)
Free Jerusalem, an advocacy group calling for the end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, joined the demonstrators at the Hebrew University. “Despite the university’s pressures, we are here to stand by the students who are fighting to end the genocide and liberate Palestine,” the group said in a statement.
Earlier, another demonstration was held in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza at the Al-Quds University in the occupied West Bank. The protest was quickly dispersed after Israeli occupation forces stormed the campus and used tear gas, stun guns, and sound bombs against the demonstrators. Twenty-three Palestinian students were injured during the occupation army raid on the Al-Quds University campus in the town of Abu Dis, near occupied East Jerusalem.
This comes as the occupation continues its aggression against refugee camps, towns, and cities in northern West Bank since January 21. Since the start of its war in n the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army and settlers have escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, resulting in the death of more than 946 Palestinians, the injury of nearly 7,000, and the arrest of 15,800, according to official Palestinian figures. The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2025 has risen to 99, with 60 per cent killed in just four localities, including Jenin and Nur Shams refugee camps.
Since February, Israeli forces have demolished dozens of homes and infrastructure across the northern West Bank, which humanitarian actors have been unable to systematically assess due to the lack of access. In Jenin camp, according to initial estimates by local authorities, more than 600 residential units have been rendered uninhabitable, in addition to an estimated 66 residential structures that have been slated for demolition by an Israeli military order for military purposes that affects about 280 families. In Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, local sources reported multiple explosions and bulldozer activity by Israeli forces, with at least 40 homes either demolished or slated for demolition since 18 February and many families prevented from returning.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=32537
