Students at some universities in the United Kingdom have set up pro-Palestinian encampments in recent days.
At Newcastle University, a small pro-Palestinian encampment has been set up on a lawn in front of the college’s buildings, video and pictures on social media showed.
The X account “Newcastle Apartheid Off Campus” shared images of their encampment, which shows around a dozen tents on the lawn, some with Palestinian flags hanging from them.
The group describes itself as a “student-led coalition fighting for an end to Newcastle University’s partnership with defense companies supplying Israel” and said, in an X post Wednesday evening, that they would be “staying the night.”
“Day one of the encampment is coming to an end,” the post said, adding that “numbers are growing by the hour.”
Students in the English cities of Leeds and Bristol also set up tents outside their university buildings Wednesday in protest against the war in Gaza, according to PA news agency. PA also reported that a camp at Warwick University, in central England, has been installed on the university’s campus for a week.
On Friday, the University of Warwick said it was aware of an “ongoing demonstration” on campus organized by “Warwick Stands With Palestine,” a coalition of student and staff organizations. The university said it was “speaking to the demonstration’s organizers” but reiterated that freedom of speech is a “vital component of university life.”