Australian Students Demand Divestment in Israel-linked Firms

A crowd of more than 300 protesters in the University of Sydney called for boycotts and a freeze on investment in companies having ties with Israel, echoing the demands of students in the US, Canada and France.

Pro-Palestine activists set up a camp at the University of Sydney last week as part of anti-Israel movements inspired by student protests in American universities, according to IRNA's report on Friday, quoting the Straits Times.

Similar camps have also been set up in the universities of Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities.

Mark Scott, vice-chancellor of the University of Sydney, told local media on Thursday that the pro-Palestinian camp can stay on campus as students are pushing their demands peacefully.

While several police cars were parked at the entrance of the university, no police force was seen near these protests.

Australia has increasingly been critical of the Israeli regime's actions in Gaza. An Australian aid worker with US-based charity, World Central Kitchen also died in the Israeli attacks on an aid convoy in Gaza in April.

Pro-Palestinian protesters that started on April 18 at Columbia University in New York has spilled over campus in many countries in Europe and Asia. c

In France,  Science Po University was forced to close on Friday after negotiations between the president of this university and pro-Palestinian students about the Zionist regime's attacks on Gaza failed to reduce tensions.

This university in Paris has become the center of a wave of protests against the war in Gaza.