QUEEN’S University in Belfast is to divest from Israeli companies on a UN blacklist. The university's pledge comes days after students occupied the Queen’s Lanyon Building on Tuesday. This week Trinity College in Dublin pledged to cut ties with Israeli companies, ending a five-day protest at the campus. In a statement Queen's said: “Following a joint proposal from the President and Vice-Chancellor and the Students’ Union President, due to the continued conflict in Gaza and in line with the International Court of Justice’s recent finding on genocide, the University has agreed to engage with its investment managers to initiate a process to divest from investments in companies that are listed by the UN Human Rights Council as carrying out listed activities in relation to Palestine. “What we have learned from the Northern Ireland conflict is that dialogue and compromise between all parties founded on justice and equality is the only way to achieve lasting peace, and at Queen’s, we express our desire and genuine hope that the current negotiations will lead to a permanent end to the current conflict.” QUB Palestine Assembly, who organised Tuesday’s protest at the university, welcomed the statement but said it “falls short”. “Trinity has agreed, by comparison, to end all relationships with Israeli suppliers and to divest from all Israeli companies as well as those operating in the occupied Palestinian territories. It has created a task force to review ties with all Israeli institutions, including academic and student exchanges, with the intention of ending them.”
