Pro-Palestinian protesters have shut down public access to Ireland's historic "Book of Kells" at Trinity College Dublin, with a student leader saying Sunday that the blockade would continue "indefinitely."
László Molnárfi, president of the Students' Union, told the Irish news website The Journal that about 80 people were maintaining an encampment of tents set up Friday outside the school's Old Library, which houses the Book of Kells.
"Our numbers have grown. Our forces have grown up. It's a completely peaceful protest, we're still blocking the Book of Kells indefinitely," Molnárfi said.
A photo posted online by the BBC on Saturday showed inscribed wood benches piled up in front of the entrance to the exhibit.
The demonstrators' demands reportedly include the cutting of all ties between Trinity and Israel, condemnation by the college of Israel's military actions in Gaza, and the awarding of scholarships to Palestinian students.
The Book of Kells is an illuminated religious manuscript transcribed by Celtic monks around the year 800 and contains the four Gospels of the New Testament in Latin.
Fáilte Ireland, the country's national tourism development authority, calls it Ireland's "greatest national treasure," and according to Trinity College Dublin, it attracts more than 520,000 visitors a year.
Trinity College Dublin is among several schools around the world where students have staged pro-Palestinian protests following a wave of similar demonstrations across the U.S. sparked by the April 18 police crackdown on an encampment at Columbia University in New York City.
International protests have been reported in cites including London, Paris, Rome, Sydney, Tokyo and Beirut, according to NBC News.
The encampment at Trinity College Dublin started one day after the school fined the Students' Union 214,285 euros, more than $230,000, for protests that blocked access to the Book of Kells.
A Trinity spokesperson told the school's student newspaper, Trinity News, on Thursday that the fine was imposed because the school "cannot survive solely on Government funding" and "income generated from the Book of Kells is vital to keep the university going."
The fine, due by May 30, is equivalent to about 20% of the Students' Union's annual income, most of which comes from the college, according to Trinity News.
