University of Barcelona's senate votes in favor of pro-Palestine protesters requests
Students have been camping in the building protesting university's ties with Israel
The senate of the University of Barcelona (UB) has approved a motion in support of Palestine on Wednesday.
The motion calls for the university to break all institutional and academic ties with Israel, including centers, research institutes, companies, and other institutions in the country, until what they refer to as genocide stops.
The result was 59 votes in favor of the motion, 23 against and 37 abstentions.
The students protesting at the university celebrated the news of their motion being approved.
"This is a big step forward in our fight in solidarity with the Palestinian people at universities," student council member Pablo Castilla told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) after learning the result of the vote.
The approved motion will now be laid in front of the Board of Directors and Governing Council of the university.
The protesters call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and for the Catalan and Spanish governments to break relations with Israel.
After the motion passed the vote, the rector of the University of Barcelona, Joan Guàrdia, has committed to reflecting on the impact the conflict in Palestine has on students.
Students protest on campus
The protest at the university started on Monday afternoon when they installed some tents and announced their mobilization against the "genocide suffered by Palestinians."
Despite 70 students sleeping in the building's courtyard, classes were unaffected and began as normal on Tuesday morning, as the will of the students was for the protest not to interfere with the lessons.
The students confirmed that they would stay more nights and said that they would not understand if these students were forced to leave the university as the demonstration does not finish "until governments break all ties with Israel," Castilla added.
The student representative remembered that the protest is peaceful and has no intention of interfering with the elections on Sunday May 12, for which the building is used as a polling station.
The protesters have asked for people to "fill up the building" before Sunday's Catalan election.