Pro-Palestinian protest at Kromhout Barracks in Utrecht, police units deployed

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in front of the Kromhout Barracks in Utrecht on Saturday. The group claims to be "a broad alliance of people from the Palestinian solidarity and anti-militarist movements." The activists say they are against "Dutch complicity in the genocide in Gaza and the unbridled militarism of the Dutch state."

Nationale mars voor Gaza mede georganiseerd door @UU_Encampment loopt nu van Domplein over de Venuslaan richting de Kromhoutkazerne. pic.twitter.com/hzQGW4goET

— DUB (@dubnieuws) July 6, 2024

"This site is home to the Defence Materiel Organization," said a spokesperson for the group. "This is where the Netherlands is enabled to buy hundreds of millions worth of weapons from Israel. Weapons that have been tested on Palestinians. This also facilitates the sale of weapons systems and technology to authoritarian regimes that serve Western interests."

The activists claim that they have blocked access to the barracks and that a tent camp has also been set up. "To achieve our goals, we do not need to sit down with representatives of a government that we have long known would rather be rid of Palestinians, migrants, and other racialized communities."

According to an RTV Utrecht reporter, about 50 people are on the site chanting "Free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." The protesters are seen wearing masks and waving Palestinian flags.

Among the goals at stake are ending the "supply and procurement of arms and technology to and from Israel" and ending the "explosive growth in military spending and the relaxation of arms export regulations."

However, the spokesperson told RTV Utrecht that the Kromhout Barracks staff would not be blocked and could enter and leave the site.

Two military police cars and two police vans have arrived and are checking the situation.