Pro-Palestinian protests are spreading across British universities as students attempt to replicate the occupations that have swept through US campuses.
Demonstrators at University College London (UCL) have added to a growing number of tent camps protesting against the war in Gaza, which have been seen at universities including Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol.
The scenes have been a far cry from confrontations in the US, where there have been thousands of arrests and riot police have stormed campuses, but British student protesters are refusing to budge until universities meet their demands to cut ties with Israeli organisations and make commitments on Gaza.
Goldsmiths at University of London has agreed to student demands by offering scholarships for Palestinian students, renaming a lecture hall after Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist killed in an Israeli military operation in 2022, and reviewing how anti-Semitism is defined on campus.
Students from Goldsmiths had occupied the Professor Stuart Hall building earlier this year, and on Wednesday night forced their way into the college library in another show of defiance.
On Friday, university vice-chancellors were warned by Nick Hillman, the director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, to be “very, very careful” about keeping the atmosphere stable for students heading into exam season.
In an echo of a Columbia University student in New York who was mocked for demanding “basic humanitarian aid” for demonstrators, some British students have begun requesting “food for community dinners” as well as mats, tents, blankets and “sources of light”.
On Instagram, a pro-Palestinian group called Newcastle Apartheid posted an “urgent callout” for “blankets [and] food for community dinner” to allow its encampment at the University of Newcastle to continue.
Meanwhile, protestors at UCL asked the public to donate “nutritious and healthy” food to their group, while pillows and some food supplies were seen being lifted over campus gates on Friday afternoon.
Security officers at UCL have blocked students from using the main entrance where the activists are based, with dozens of protesters breaking into chants of “From the river to the sea” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied” while waving Palestinian flags.
But the activists met some resistance on Friday, with two Jewish students turning up to wave the Israeli flag on separate occasions. Samuel Ktorza, a data sciences student at UCL, angrily challenged security wardens for not letting him into the main route to the library, and entered a heated five-minute spat with one of the activists who claimed Hamas was not a terrorist group.
“How is this allowed to happen?” the 19-year-old asked. “How are Palestine flags replacing the university flags? It’s unreal. It’s unacceptable. It’s my university, I’m trying to come and study at the library and I can’t even go through the main entrance – how crazy is that? I’ve got exams in a week... I’m lost for words.”
A 20-year-old first-year student at UCL, who is supporting the protest, said: “We are following in the footsteps of students around the world in asking for our university to divest the millions of pounds it has in companies that supply arms to Israel. It’s disgraceful that the university is invested in these companies.”
He and students at camps across the country are also demanding that university chiefs condemn the war in Gaza publicly and commit to helping rebuild the destroyed education system there.
A Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group van arrived at UCL at around midday on Friday. Three uniformed officers left the vehicle and entered the university campus. One briefly approached the encampment, but then walked away. Five minutes later, the officers returned to their van and drove off.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested in US campus protests over Gaza, which have spread to around 50 universities in recent days.
A Government source told The Telegraph ministers were monitoring the situation closely amid concerns over campus security and fears that outsiders could infiltrate groups and agitate, turning the peaceful protests violent.
Authorities are also looking at evidence of expressions of anti-Semitism.
A UCL spokesman said: “Like many other universities, a small protest with tents is taking place in our quad. We are speaking with the organisers and carefully monitoring the situation.
“We will manage this in line with our legal duty and commitment to promote freedom of speech within the law, whilst ensuring the safety and security of our community and enabling our education and research activity to continue.”
