PRO-Palestine students have held a protest at Queen’s University Belfast calling for the university to review its ties with Israeli universities.
The protest was organised by the QUB Palestine Assembly and was staged in the university’s Lanyon Building on Tuesday afternoon.
The students are calling for QUB to issue a statement condemning Israel’s “mass killing of Palestinians and the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s educational infrastructure”. The group also called for QUB to demand an immediate ceasefire in the region and offer “sanctuary status” to Palestinian academics and students.
It has further called for Queen’s to “review all ties” with Israeli universities, cultural institutions and its industrial sector, as well as implementing a sector-wide withdrawal of support for “companies engaged in violations of Palestinian human rights".
The protest follows similar action from students in the USA and in Trinity College in Dublin, when students called on the university to end all business and academic links to Israel. In response, Trinity College Dublin said it has "initiated a process to divest from investments in companies that have activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and appear on the UN Blacklist."
Breaking from student media at Trinity College university in Dublin. The university has agreed "to work towards total divestment from Israeli institutions." Comes after just five nights of students camping out. https://t.co/Pn5gFTa5tg
— Barry Malone (@malonebarry) May 8, 2024
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, who attended the protest at QUB, said: "I think it's very, very important that they've done this. Hopefully the students can force management to act."
A Queen’s spokesperson said: "During recent months, we have met individuals and representatives of many organisations, including trade unions, students union and many other interest groups.
"We have had constructive discussions, listened to concerns and ideas and exchanged views in an atmosphere of mutual respect, with a genuine desire to find solutions and common ground on a range of issues, and we will continue to do so.
"We accept there are different views on the Middle East. Queen's University is committed to freedom of thought and expression for students and staff within a framework of respect for the rights of other persons.
"While we will recognise and defend the right to protest and have voices heard, in a respectful and legal way, it is essential that those who want to go about their normal business on campus can freely and safely do so without interference."
