Universities are a place for dialogue, not for intimidation, violence or vandalism, education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said on Wednesday afternoon, in response to the pro-Palestine protests in Amsterdam and Utrecht. 

“Universities must be a safe place for everyone,” Dijkgraaf said. The “great strength of a university is that you discuss and debate using a barrage of arguments.”

Dijkgraaf also said he is in close contact with Amsterdam University’s management team and is supporting them where necessary. It is “very important” that the voices of students and teaching staff are heard, he said, but it is also important that “outsiders don’t take over” the protests and use violence. 

The UvA’s Binnengasthuis location in the city centre was closed on Wednesday after a group of campaigners barricaded themselves in overnight. Photos show office furniture, bicycles and boxes piled up to stop people from entering the area.

The university authorities decided not to ask the police to intervene, saying instead they would hold talks with the students on Wednesday. 

Police did take action overnight in Utrecht, where a group of students set up a tent camp close to the main library. They were removed from the location by riot police and a number were arrested.

Some politicians in The Hague have slammed the protests, with far-right leader Geert Wilders calling on the police to take action. “The earlier, the harder and the more frequent, the better,” he said. 

Caroline van der Plas from the pro-farmers party BBB said there is “nothing wrong with demonstrating”. “But what is happening here is complete anarchy,” she said. “Entire streets are being dug up and everything is being blocked off. This is going too far.”

The campaigners have called on the university to break off all its links with Israeli institutions which “are partly responsible for the suppression, apartheid and genocide in Palestine”. They have pledged to remain where they are “as long as it takes”.

There were talks between protesters and the university authorities on Wednesday morning but no details have yet been revealed.