German police on Tuesday broke up a protest by several hundred pro-Palestinian activists who had occupied a courtyard at Berlin’s Free University earlier in the day, the latest such action by authorities as protests that have roiled campuses in the United States spread across Europe.

The protesters had put up about 20 tents and formed a human chain around them. Most had covered their faces with medical masks and had draped kufiyah scarves around their heads, shouting slogans such as “Viva, viva Palestina”.

Police had called on the students via loudspeakers to leave the campus, and officers could also be seen carrying some students away, and using pepper spray against some of the protesters.

The school's administrators said in a statement that the protesters had rejected any kind of dialogue and they had therefore called in police to clear the campus.

“This form of protest is not geared towards dialogue. An occupation is not acceptable on the Free University Berlin campus,” university president Guenter Ziegler said.

The administrators said some protesters attempted to enter rooms and lecture halls at Free University in order to occupy them.

In recent days, students have held protests or set up encampments in Finland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, France and Britain, following earlier protests at US campuses. (AP)