Pro-Palestinian student protests spread in Switzerland

For weeks, students around the world have been calling for their universities to cut ties with Israeli institutions over the war in Gaza.

Students at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) were the first to mobilise in Switzerland, with several hundred occupying a hall Thursday evening to demand an end to partnerships with Israeli universities.

UNIL responded in a statement that it "considers that there is no reason to cease these relations". Protesters and the rector will meet later Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the movement spread to the prestigious EPFL university in Lausanne, where a group of students occupied the university's hall, an AFP photographer observed.

The students are demanding "an academic boycott" of Israeli institutions and "an end to censorship at EPFL", and called on other universities to join in.

Tens of students protested in the entrance hall of the ETH Zurich shortly before midday on Tuesday, shouting "Free Palestine" and rolling a poster onto the floor that said "no Tech for Genocide" before being removed by police, according to news agency Keystone-ATS.

In Geneva, the Palestine Student Coordination - University of Geneva (CEP-UnigGe) took over a hall at the university with sofas, chairs and tables around midday, the Swiss agency reported.

Numerous Palestinian flags and banners were hung on all floors of the building. An assembly is scheduled for Tuesday.

In a letter to the university's rector, the group called for "an immediate end to links between the University of Geneva and Israeli universities" and called on the rectorate to encourage the admission of Palestinian students.

Students across Europe have launched pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in Ireland, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.