Students at the University of Ljubljana have occupied the main lecture hall at the Faculty of Social Sciences (FDV) in protest over Israeli military operations against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.

Students demand that the FDV and the university, Slovenia’s main education institution, denounce the strikes in Gaza as genocide and back the rights of the Palestinians. The protest has been supported by six departments at FDV as well as by the student council and seven departments from other universities.

One of the demonstrators, student at the Faculty of Philosophy, Masa, told bne IntelliNews during the May 10 press conference at the FDV hall that the protestors’ main demand is for “the university and the faculty to take a stance on the conflict” and use their power and influence on Slovene politics.

Following the talks with the FDV dean Iztok Prezelj, protestors told public broadcaster RTV Slovenija that “we agree in principle” and that “we differ only in small differences in diction”. 

Slovenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Tanja Fajon, from Robert Golob’s centre-left cabinet, is on a tour of the Middle East and met with her Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on May 12, where she expressed concerns over the stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas and warned against the offensive by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Rafah, the city in south Gaza to which swathes of Palestinian refugees fled from the military operations.

Fajon also visited the Rafah crossing on May 11, calling for the reopening of the crossing to enable aid deliveries into Gaza. The Rafah crossing was previously taken by the IDF.

Golob and Fajon also welcome the UN General Assembly vote in favour of a resolution backing Palestine’s full membership at the UN. As bne IntelliNews reported, Slovenia has parted ways with Central European countries such as Czechia and Hungary in their staunchly pro-Israeli stance and has pushed for the recognition of Palestine.

In January, Slovenia became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. In April, it called for a meeting of the Security Council, along with Algeria, Guyana and Switzerland, over the killing of humanitarian workers by the IDF, and the continuing fighting in Gaza.

Masa told bne IntelliNews that protesters consider themselves as “one part of a larger movement”, mentioning students from other faculties in the Slovenian capital. When asked whether the protesters encountered criticism, she responded there are “always some negative reactions, ranging from [being accused of] anti-semitism, to [being] radical left, to Marxists.”

Israel launched air and ground military operations in Gaza in response to the massacres carried out by the Hamas fighters mostly against civilians in southern Israel on October 7, but has faced criticism from the world community and also from the US, its closest ally, over the staggering death toll on the Palestinian side.  

A Hamas-run health ministry puts the death toll of the IDF strikes at over 34,000. The Hamas attacks from October 7 left over 1,200 dead and over 100 are still held captive in Gaza.