Over 90 arrested after pro-Palestine demo in Rotterdam

Some demonstrators refused to leave. Photo: ANP / Hollandse Hoogte / MediaTV

Police arrested more than 90 people on Wednesday evening following a pro-Palestine demonstration outside Rotterdam city hall after they refused to leave when ordered to do so.

The arrests were made after repeated warnings to clear the area, police said in a statement. One person was also arrested for assaulting an officer.

The demonstration had been called to protest against cargo company Maersk and the Rotterdam port authority, which campaigners say are helping to ship F-35 fighter jet spare parts to Israel.

The protest should have ended at 7:30 pm, but a number of protesters refused to budge. Rotterdam mayor Carola Schouten then ordered the demonstration to be formally ended at 8 pm and police moved in to arrest protesters who refused to leave.

Earlier this week, Maersk’s Rotterdam headquarters were covered in graffiti, calling on the company to “take off its mask”. The company itself says the claims are “misleading”.

“We ship parts to and from different producers, but we do not deliver parts, weapons or ammunition to the Israeli defence ministry,” a spokesman told the AD this week.

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