By Mehmet Solmaz
BIRMINGHAM, England (AA) - A coalition of staff, students and graduates at the University of Galway in Ireland plan to stage on-campus protests, calling on authorities there to end all links with Israeli companies and educational institutions.
The Campus Anti Genocide group said they are demanding an immediate end to what it described as "collusion with Israeli genocide and apartheid."
In September, the university said contractual obligations prevented it from backing out of a project with the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel.
The university is the coordinating partner in an ongoing research program that involves the Haifa-based institution.
The ASTERISK research project is looking at ways to produce hydrogen from seawater. It is co-funded by the EU. The Technion Institute is one of a number of third-level institutions involved.
The agreement has been criticized by human rights campaigners, given Israeli crimes in Gaza and Technion’s role in developing what it terms, "defense and security technologies."
Campaigners say new university president, David J Burn, has failed to act on commitments to further investigate the deal. They say they will escalate their protest in the coming weeks if the contract is not broken.