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Ìýfinance minister has threatened to slash funding to a university following commemorations forÌýÌýDay, according to reports, which marksÌýthe ethnic cleansing of historic Palestine during the creation of Israel.

Avigdor Lieberman announced plansÌýto reduce the budget for Beersheba'sÌýBen-Gurion University of the NegevÌý²¹´Ú³Ù±ð°ùÌý took place on theÌýcampus,Ìýreported The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

±á³Ü²Ô»å°ù±ð»å²õÌý´Ç´Ú Ìýstudents marked the day,Ìýwhich commemorates the expulsion of hundreds of thousands Palestinians from their homeland, by raising Palestinian national flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogansÌýamid a heavy policeÌýpresence.

Beer Sheva,

Students mark "Nakba Day" at Ben Gurion University, today.

— AbuAliEnglish (@AbuAliEnglishB1)

The students were reportedly banned from staging the protests onÌý, and were orderedÌýto move the rally to a later date.

Demonstrations commemorating the Nakba are held in cities across Palestine and across the world every year on the day, includingÌý.

TheÌýminister and leader of the far-rightÌý party accused the rally of "saying and doing things" that "rejected the existence" of Israel as a "Jewish and democratic"Ìýstate.

His party has a history of anti-Palestinian policies, while Lieberman has made

He added that he had given instructions "to examine the conduct of the university" in order to "exercise his authority" to reduce its budget,Ìýaccording to The Times of Israel.

Another right-wing member of the Israeli cabinet, Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, said theÌýCouncil for Higher Education would "examine"Ìýthe rally as "potential incitement".

However, the university stated that the events showed that students from all over Israeli society at the campus are able to "hold a variety of opinions and views",Ìýin light of the International Day of Diversity which was marked two days prior.

Other universities in Israel and around the world have alsoÌýfaced threats of budget cuts for espousingÌýsolidarity with Palestinian causes.

Earlier this year,Ìý threatened to withhold membership fees ofÌýThe Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) following a vote in favour of aÌýPalestineÌýSolidarity Policy that labels Israel as a "settler-colonial apartheid" state.

Critics have called such measures blackmail, against free speech.

Israeli authorities Palestinian students in the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and beyond.