LONDON
\nStudents at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have set up encampments in support of Palestine, The Times reported on Monday.
\nAround 50 have refused to leave the lawn of King\u2019s College, Cambridge, while students have also declared a \u201cliberated zone\u201d outside Oxford\u2019s Pitt Rivers Museum.
\nA banner hung outside King\u2019s College read: \u201cWelcome to the people\u2019s university for Palestine.\u201d Chants of \u201cstop the bombing now\u201d have also been heard on the campus.
\nThe protests have been organized by Oxford Action for Palestine and Cambridge for Palestine.
\nThey are demanding transparency about the universities\u2019 financial links to Israel, which they have described as a \u201csettler colonial state,\u201d and are calling for the end of all investments and endowments from Israeli and Israel-linked companies.
\n\u201cWe have set up camp in university grounds, and we will not move until our demands are met,\u201d the groups said in a statement, adding that the universities are legitimate targets for protests because of their \u201crole in the British empire and its disastrous colonial legacies.\u201d
\nThe Times reported that protesters had been given an itinerary for their involvement including \u201cde-escalation training\u201d and \u201cbanner-making.\u201d
\nA spokesperson for Cambridge University said it is for the college to decide whether to call the police, adding: \u201cThe university is fully committed to academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law and we acknowledge the right to protest.
\n\u201cWe ask everyone in our community to treat each other with understanding and empathy. Our priority is the safety of all staff and students.
\n\u201cWe will not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia and any other form of racial or religious hatred, or other unlawful activity.\u201d
\nThe relatively small UK protests come after nearly 2,000 people were arrested across the US after widespread demonstrations on over 130 American university campuses about Israel\u2019s ongoing war in Gaza.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Students at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge have set up encampments in support of Palestine, The Times reported on Monday. Around 50 have refused to leave the lawn of King\u2019s College, Cambridge, while students have also declared a \u201cliberated zone\u201d outside Oxford\u2019s Pitt Rivers Museum. A banner hung outside King\u2019s College read: \u201cWelcome […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-405270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n