The spark of protests in support of Gaza spreads to Arab universities and preparations are being made in Jordan and Lebanon

Universities in three Arab countries witnessed demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinians demanding an end to the ongoing Israeli war for the seventh month in a row, while students in Jordan and Lebanon are preparing for similar protests on Tuesday.

The spark of student demonstrations in support of Gaza spread to universities in three Arab countries today, Monday, in solidarity with the Palestinians and to demand an end to the ongoing Israeli war for the seventh month in a row, while students in Jordan and Lebanon are preparing for similar protests tomorrow, Tuesday.

This comes within the framework of the student movement that began in the United States about two weeks ago, and has begun to expand in several Western, Islamic, and recently Arab countries.

In the Mauritanian capital, hundreds of students demonstrated on Monday in several government institutions of higher education, including the University of Nouakchott, the Higher Institute of Accounting and Institutional Management, and the Higher Institute for Islamic Studies and Research.

The demonstrations were organized in response to calls from student unions, including the National Union of Mauritanian Students, which is the largest student union grouping in the country.

During the demonstrations, students raised Palestinian flags and chanted slogans demanding an end to the war on Gaza.

The Secretary-General of the National Union of Mauritanian Students, Mohamed Yahya Al-Mustafa, said in a speech to those gathered in the square of the Higher Institute of Accounting and Institutional Management in Nouakchott, that these protests are accompanied by a one-day student strike in all Mauritanian higher education institutions.

Hundreds of students in Yemen

In Yemen, Taiz University (governmental) in the center of the country witnessed, on Monday, two protests in which hundreds of students participated in solidarity with Gaza.

The two protests were organized by the Yemeni Students Union at Taiz University, during which the demonstrators raised the Palestinian flag and banners denouncing the continuation of “the crimes of the Israeli occupation in Gaza for more than 200 days.”

A statement issued by the organizers of the two protests called for "international pressure to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip."

The statement stressed that Yemeni students stand with the Palestinian people in their constant struggle against the Israeli occupation, expressing solidarity with university students in the United States who were subjected to arrest. Because of their rejection of what is happening in Gaza.

“University Flood” in Tunisia

In Tunisia, on Monday, university students began protest activities that will last for a week, in support of the rights of the Palestinian people, under the slogan “The University Flood.”

The students began the protest week with a general strike in Tunisian universities and protests in university cities (student accommodation). In response to an invitation from the Tunisian General Union of Students (the largest student organization in the country), according to Anadolu’s correspondent.

In front of the Municipal Theater in Tunis, student protesters raised slogans including: “The Brigades and Al-Qassam Do not let the Zionist sleep,” “Palestine is trust, and normalization is betrayal,” “The French and Americans are partners in the aggression,” and “Gaza, Gaza, is a symbol of pride.”

In addition, university students in Jordan and Lebanon are preparing for protests tomorrow, Tuesday, in solidarity with Gaza.

The “Student Forum to Support the Resistance” in Jordan called, in a statement, for a pause in all student squares and fields on Tuesday. "Support for Gaza, its people, and its resistance."

He explained that the protest will be under the title “Jordanian Students Support Gaza,” and will be in coordination with student forces and blocs at each university.

The student forum saluted the international student movement, noting that “the movement taking place in American universities is unprecedented, supportive of the Palestinian cause, and supportive of Gaza and its resistance, led by the honorable students in those universities.”

In Lebanon, the “Gathering of Free University Students” called for participation in solidarity protests with Gaza in all the country’s universities on Tuesday, and said in a statement that this comes “in support of the legendary steadfastness of the people of Gaza in the face of neo-Nazism,” directing a salute to the students who rose up in American and European universities.

Several universities in other Arab countries recently witnessed similar protests.

Last Saturday, demonstrations took place at the University of Casablanca, western Morocco, and universities in several Yemeni governorates, including Al Mahwit and Dhamar (north) and Al Bayda (centre).

While students at the American University in Egypt joined the student movement with demonstrations they organized last week.

On April 18, students who rejected the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip began a sit-in on the campus of Columbia University in New York, demanding that its administration stop its academic cooperation with Israeli universities and withdraw its investments in companies that support the occupation of Palestinian territories.

As police forces intervened and dozens of students were arrested, the state of anger expanded, with demonstrations extending to dozens of universities in the United States, including leading universities such as Harvard, George Washington, New York, Yale, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and North Carolina.

Later, the unprecedented student movement in support of Palestine in the United States expanded to universities in countries such as France, Britain, Germany, Canada and India, all of which witnessed demonstrations in support of their counterparts in American universities and demands to stop the war on Gaza and boycott the companies that supply weapons to Israel.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip that has left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Tel Aviv being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of “genocide.” Collective.

Israel continues its devastating war on Gaza despite the issuance of an immediate ceasefire resolution by the UN Security Council, and despite its appearance before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing "genocide."