Pro-Palestine protesters take over LSE building
Pro-Palestine campus protests have spread to the London School of Economics as students set up camp inside a university building.
Protesters set up a camp at the LSE as students attempt to replicate the occupations that have swept through US campuses.
Demonstrators at LSE have added to a growing number of tent camps protesting against the war in Gaza, which have been seen at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, SOAS, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds, Warwick, Swansea and Bristol.
Footage shows protesters clearing chairs and hastily pitching tents inside what appears to be a university assembly hall before being led in pro-Palestine chants.
Elsewhere, hundreds of protesters, many wearing keffiyehs and Palestinian flags, can be seen parading the streets next to the LSE campus while chanting songs including “from the river to the sea” – a phrase widely viewed as calling for the eradication of Israel.
The group behind the protests appears to be the London School of Economics Student Union Palestine Society, which posted on social media inviting protesters to attend a “press conference and rally” on Tuesday to launch a report urging for divestment from Israel.
Called Assets in Apartheid, the 116-page report accuses LSE of having £89 million of investments in companies involved in activities including supporting the Israeli military, arms manufacture and nuclear weapons production.
In one video, demonstrators, many of whom are holding banners with messages including “London School of Exploitation” and “LSE divest”, gathered around a speaker who said the report outlined the “egregious complicity of this bloody university in the genocide of the Palestinian people”.
There has been growing concern that the camps at UK universities could lead to scenes of violence similar to those seen in the US, where thousands were arrested and riot police stormed campuses such as Columbia.
LSE is partnered with Columbia, and its former vice-chancellor Minouche Shafik, is now president of the US university.
She was condemned by LSE’s Palestinian Society, who issued a statement in solidarity with Columbia protesters and accused Ms Shafik of dolling out “draconian punishment” against US demonstrators.
An LSE spokesman said: “Following a rally on the LSE campus, some protesters entered and occupied part of the ground floor of the LSE Marshall Building, highlighting a range of demands relating to investments.
“We will carefully consider the report submitted by the protest group and respond in due course. We will also continue to engage in a peaceful dialogue.
“Our priority continues to be the wellbeing of the LSE community. Exams, which take place in other areas of campus, will not be affected by the protest.”
