LONDON (National Times) UK police have arrested 16 people at a protest organised by a pro-Palestinian student group at Oxford University, in the latest flare-up on a prestigious campus over the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thames Valley Police said the individuals were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, while one was also held on suspicion of common assault.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It follows protests in recent weeks at more than a dozen UK universities, including at world-renowned Oxford and Cambridge, emulating similar actions on campuses in the United States and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Demonstrators opposed to Israel’s handling of the war against Hamas militants in Gaza have made various demands, including that universities sever academic and financial ties with the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Oxford, the arrests came after students entered a university administrative building on Thursday morning, claiming they had “exhausted all other avenues of communication” with administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Instead of engaging in dialogue with her students, the vice-chancellor chose to evacuate the building, place it on lockdown, and call the police to make arrests,” a spokesperson for the Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) protest group said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We demand the administration meet with us to negotiate immediately.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Videos posted on social media showed people sitting on the ground in front of a police van being dragged away by officers, as onlookers chanted “shame”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oxford University said in a statement that demonstrators had “gone beyond” peaceful protest, and that had “culminated in forced entry and temporary occupation” of some university offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It added that OA4P had “escalated their protest actions from mainly peaceful to direct action tactics”, creating a “deeply intimidating environment” to community members, including Jewish students and staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The university’s union, which represents academics, lecturers and staff, condemned “bringing in police to violently arrest” students who were “engaged in peaceful protest”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON (National Times) UK police have arrested 16 people at a protest organised by a pro-Palestinian student group at Oxford University, in the latest flare-up on a prestigious campus over the war in Gaza. Thames Valley Police said the individuals were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass, while one was also held on suspicion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82437","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n