German Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger is moving to dismiss a senior official in the ministry named Sabine Döring after it was reported that she is considering imposing sanctions on a group of lecturers who expressed their opposition to the removal of a pro-Palestinian protest camp at the Free University of Berlin.

The Ministry of Education said last night, Sunday, that Stark-Watzinger sent a request to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for Döring's dismissal, who holds the second-highest position in the ministry after Stark-Watzinger.

Unlike Stark-Watzinger, Döring is not an elected official but a public servant.

It is noted that in early May, about 150 pro-Palestinian activists attempted to occupy a square and set up tents at the Free University of Berlin in protest against the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip. The university quickly called the police and evacuated the area.

After that, about 100 lecturers from several universities in Berlin issued a letter supporting students' right to protest.

They stated: "Regardless of whether we agree with the specific demands of the protest camp or not, we stand with our students and advocate for their right to peaceful protest."

The German Broadcasting Corporation recently reported leaked internal emails showing that a legal review was requested within the Ministry of Education to determine whether it was possible to cancel university funding in response to the letter.

Stark-Watzinger, who publicly criticized the lecturers at that time for their support of the protest camp, confirmed that Döring, who is responsible for universities in the ministry, is the one who initiated the investigation.

Stark-Watzinger said: "I arranged for a thorough and transparent investigation into the facts of the matter," confirming that "the relevant departments have already been asked to consider the potential consequences under funding law."