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SEATTLE — A group of anti-Israel protesters occupied an engineering building at the University of Washington (UW) on Monday, leading to a significant police intervention and the arrest of at least 30 individuals, according to university officials. The demonstrators demanded that the institution divest from BOEING, a major aerospace and defense contractor with longstanding ties to the university.
Video footage from the scene captured dumpsters ablaze as law enforcement, clad in riot gear, moved in to regain control of the building. Protesters had barricaded themselves inside, and one individual outside was heard shouting, “Abolish the police. Every cop dead is a victory for the resistance.”
In a statement, UW condemned the protesters for creating a “dangerous environment” in and around the building. The university reported that the demonstrators, many of whom concealed their identities, blocked access to two nearby streets, obstructed entrances and exits, and set fire to dumpsters. UW Police, in collaboration with local authorities, began clearing the area around 10:30 p.m. and entered the building at 11 p.m. to apprehend the occupiers.
Approximately 30 protesters were arrested and charged with trespassing, property destruction, disorderly conduct, and conspiracy to commit these offenses. UW emphasized its commitment to maintaining a secure academic environment and denounced the illegal occupation as well as an antisemitic statement issued by a suspended student group earlier that day.
“The University will not be intimidated by this sort of offensive and destructive behavior and will continue to oppose antisemitism in all its forms,” UW stated.
The protest was organized in part by STUDENTS UNITED FOR PALESTINIAN EQUALITY & RETURN, a UW student group. In a social media post, the group accused BOEING of funding the engineering building with $10 million and claimed the university is complicit in the “genocide of the Palestinian people” through its partnership with the defense contractor. The group urged participants to wear masks and conceal identifiable features, alleging that BOEING produces “weapons of mass destruction” used by Israel in Gaza.
“We refuse to be complicit while our education is directly funded and controlled by a corporation whose business leads to a mass genocide of Palestinian people,” the group wrote. “These bombs, missiles, and other weapons of destruction are made possible through BOEING‘s access to UW’s campus, research facilities, and student labor.”
During the occupation, protesters symbolically renamed the building the “Sha’ban Al-Dalou Building” in honor of a 19-year-old Palestinian man killed in the bombing of Al-Aqsa Hospital on Oct. 14, 2024. Israel has stated that the hospital housed a Hamas command center, which was the intended target of the strike.
For more details, visit the University of Washington’s official website.
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