Cambridge University students set up pro-Palestine encampment in city centre

Students have set up an encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge
Students have set up an encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge -Credit:CambridgeshireLive reader


Students at the University of Cambridge set up a pro-Palestine encampment in the city centre on Monday (May 6). The students set up tents and banners on the lawn outside King's College.

It follows after activists disrupted open days at the university and told prospective students they would be "complicit in Israel's genocide" in Gaza if they apply to Trinity College. Red paint was also thrown at Trinity College with a slogan reading "divest from genocide" painted on the wall earlier in the week.

Students at universities across the country have set up encampments, including at Oxford, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield. Earlier this week the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) released a statement saying campus protests in support of Gaza were creating a "hostile and toxic atmosphere for Jewish students".

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A spokesperson for Cambridge for Palestine, the group behind the encampment in Cambridge, said: "We demand that the University of Cambridge: discloses and divests from its financial and professional support for Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza; re-invests in affected academics; and protects all forced migrants and protesting students."

They added: "As we support the Palestinian resistance in protest, we are committed to making the camp a liberated zone: safe, solidaristic, and free of all forms of oppression." A rally is planned for 3pm on Monday.

Pro-Palestine encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge
Pro-Palestine encampment on King's Parade in Cambridge -Credit:CambridgeshireLive reader

A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said: "The University is fully committed to academic freedom and freedom of speech within the law and we acknowledge the right to protest. We ask everyone in our community to treat each other with understanding and empathy.

"Our priority is the safety of all staff and students. We will not tolerate antisemitism, Islamophobia and any other form of racial or religious hatred, or other unlawful activity."

King's College has been contacted for comment.