Police arrest protesting students at Oxford University sit-in protest, protesters claim

British police arrested about a dozen Oxford University students during a pro-Palestinian sit-in, where protesters called for divestment from companies linked to Israel.

By REUTERS

MAY 23, 2024 18:20

TENTS ARE pitched outside the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as students occupy parts of British campuses in support of Palestinians in Gaza, this week. Supporters of genocidal jihadist groups are spreading mayhem across the Western world, says the writer. (photo credit: HOLLIE ADAMS/REUTERS) — TENTS ARE pitched outside the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, as students occupy parts of British campuses in support of Palestinians in Gaza, this week. Supporters of genocidal jihadist groups are spreading mayhem across the Western world, says the writer.

(photo credit: HOLLIE ADAMS/REUTERS)

British police arrested about a dozen Oxford University students and scuffled with some during a pro-Palestinian sit-in at the university premises on Thursday, the protesters said.

The Oxford Action for Palestine group (OA4P) said university authorities called in police after students began their protest at administration offices, as has been happening on campuses in Britain, the US, and elsewhere during the conflict in Gaza.

POLICE DRIVING A VAN INTO STUDENTS SITTING IN THE ROAD pic.twitter.com/LMdfWOM11P
— kendall (@kendietweets) May 23, 2024

Thames Valley police said they knew about the incident and would give information later.

The university had no immediate comment on Thursday's events, though it has previously said it respects the right to freedom of expression through peaceful protests.

University investments

Signs are displayed in front of Deering Meadow, where an encampment of students are protesting in support of Palestinians, during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois, US. April 25, 2024 (credit: REUTERS/Nate Swanson)

Footage posted on social media by OA4P showed altercations between officers and students sitting in the road blockading a police van, which it said was carrying detainees.

"Let them go," the demonstrators chanted.

The protesters had been calling for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel, which is at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"It is evident the administration would rather arrest, silence, and physically assault its own students than confront its enabling of Israel’s genocide in Gaza," the group said on X, formerly Twitter.

It is evident the administration would rather arrest, silence, and physically assault its own students than confront its enabling of israel’s genocide in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/LFGCZZwabY
— Oxford Action for Palestine (@OxAct4Pal) May 23, 2024

Speaking at the scene, Oxford politics student Kendall Gardner said police had dragged students out of the way. "We've been met with extreme violence and hostility," she told Reuters.