London students take over LSE building to protest university's 'ties to Israel'

Anna Willis
·2-min read
Students took over a building at the London School of Economics in protest over Gaza
Students took over a building at the London School of Economics in protest over Gaza -Credit:Mark Kerrison/In Pictures


Students from a London university are camping out in one of the buildings in protest over the bombing of Gaza. Student activists from the London School of Economics (LSE) have taken over a building to protest against what they say are the university's ties to Israel.

The pro-Palestinian supporters pitched tents in the Marshall Building in LSE's Holborn campus after a rally on Tuesday afternoon (May 14), MailOnline reported.

Ethan Chua, LSE Student’s Union Palestine Society Member, told the BBC that students want to disrupt university operations until they meet their demands, which also include divestment from fossil fuel companies.

Mr Chua said: “Our main message to LSE management is a call for divestment because we refuse to keep going to a university that is materially complicit in the destruction of our planet and the death of Palestinians."

READ MORE: Stop and search a 'vital tool' against knife crime, says policing minister

Students are calling for the university to cut ties with Israel
Students are calling for the university to cut ties with Israel -Credit:Mark Kerrison

Footage from Monday afternoon (May 13) showed hundreds of people gathered inside the Marshall building, but this reduced to around 50 people yesterday, Mr Chua said. In videos posted on X, students can be seen standing in a large circle inside the building chanting and holding large signs with slogans including 'LSE DIVEST' and 'STUDENTS OF THE WORLD UNITE'.

Students have been protesting against the war in Gaza across the country, including at Oxford and Cambridge universities, as well as at Goldsmiths, Warwick, and Sheffield.

These come after more than 1,000 people were arrested after pro-Palestinian protests on campuses in the US.

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israel near the Gaza Strip, leaving around 1,200 people dead and 250 taken as hostages. In retaliation, Israel has been attacking Gaza, with around 34,700 Palestinians believed to have been killed as a result, reports PA news agency.

A spokesperson for LSE said: "On 14 May 2024, following a rally on the LSE campus, some protestors entered and occupied part of the ground floor of the LSE Marshall Building, highlighting a range of demands relating to investments. We will carefully consider the report submitted by the protest group and respond in due course. We will also continue to engage in a peaceful dialogue.

"Our priority continues to be the wellbeing of the LSE community. Exams, which take place in other areas of campus, are not currently affected by the protest."

Are there protests at your university? Email anna.willis@reachplc.com.

Get the biggest stories from around London straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon's The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • 'Not in our name': Jewish university staff offer support to student protests

    A group of Jewish staff in Scottish universities have offered support to student encampments protesting the war in Gaza and calling for institutions to divest from Israel

  • One Huge Change Now Could Help Ukraine Defeat Putin

    ZOLOCHIV, Ukraine—The thud of bombs and the roar of air raid sirens pierce the air in Zolochiv, a desolate village in Kharkiv region. The village holds no strategic value for Russia, but its proximity to the border just 12 miles away means Zolochiv has little or no warning of fresh attacks, and casualties and deaths are frequent. Terror runs high among civilians.Three years into the war, residents of Zolochiv feel that Kyiv’s military must boost the village’s defenses by attacking weapons, launc

  • Israel wanted Gazan clan to take over after war – but Hamas beheaded it

    A secret Israeli plan to persuade a powerful Gazan clan to take power from Hamas was derailed when the terror group executed its leader, The Telegraph can reveal.

  • Dolev Yehud: Israeli presumed to have been taken hostage during Hamas attack found dead

    A man who was presumed to have been taken hostage during the 7 October attack by Hamas has been found dead, the Israeli military has said. The body of Dolev Yehud, a 35-year-old volunteer medic, was found in the border village where he lived. After what it described as lengthy forensics, Israel's military confirmed the remains belonged to Mr Yehud, whose name has also been spelt Yehoud.

  • Israeli man thought to be Hamas hostage found dead in his village

    Israeli military initially said Dolev Yehud was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz during 7 October Hamas attack

  • Israel asks citizens to leave Maldives after island’s ban on Israeli nationals

    Maldives government will appoint special envoy to assess Palestinian needs and launch fundraising campaign

  • Biden’s Announcement Puts Netanyahu on the Spot

    JERUSALEM — For months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has refused to offer a timeline for ending the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a reticence that his critics see as a political tactic. But he has been put on the spot this weekend by President Joe Biden’s announcement outlining a proposal for a truce. Netanyahu, a conservative, has long juggled competing personal, political and national interests. He now appears to be facing a stark choice between the survival of his hard-l

  • Police officer dies after attack at anti-Islam rally in Germany

    A 29-year-old police officer died on Sunday after being repeatedly stabbed during an attack at an anti-Islam rally in Germany. A knife-wielding man attacked and wounded several people Friday on the market square in the city of Mannheim in southwest Germany.Five people taking part in a rally organised by Pax Europa, a campaign group against radical Islam, were wounded in the attack.The policeman was "stabbed several times in the area of the head" while trying to intervene, local police said in a

  • Netanyahu aide: Israel accepts Biden's Gaza plan

    STORY: Thousands of people expressed their support for Israel Sunday in New York.. .while thousands of others backed the Palestinians in Karachi.In Israel, An aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that it had accepted a framework deal for winding down the Gaza war now being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden.In an interview with Britain's Sunday Times Netanyahu’s chief foreign policy advisor Ophir Falk said Biden's proposal was "a deal we agreed to — it's not a good deal but we dearly want the hostages released, all of them.":: May 31, 2024:: May 8, 2024Biden said the first phase entails a truce and the return of some hostages held by Hamas, after which the sides would negotiate on an open-ended cessation of hostilities for a second phase in which remaining live captives would go free.Israel's defense minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that Israel would not accept Hamas continuing to rule Gaza at any stage during the process to wind down the war, and that it was examining alternatives to the Islamist group.:: FileHamas has provisionally welcomed the Biden initiative, though a senior official from the group, Sami Abu Zuhri, said on Sunday that "Hamas is too big to be bypassed or sidelined by Netanyahu or Biden." White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told ABC News Sunday that if Hamas agrees to the deal to end the Gaza war, the U.S. expects Israel to also accept the plan.:: October 7, 2023The war began October 7th when Hamas fighters stormed across the border fence into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.:: May 8, 2024In the ensuing Israeli assault that has laid waste to much of the impoverished and besieged coastal enclave, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza medical officials say. Israel says 290 of its troops have died in the fighting.

  • ‘She’s not telling the truth about war crimes’: US official resigns over Gaza war and hits out at boss Samantha Power

    Alex Smith, a US official who quit his role at the US Agency for International Aid this week, hit out at the head of the agency Samantha Power for failing to call out Israel for blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza.

  • President Milei's surprising devotion to Judaism and Israel provokes tension in Argentina and beyond

    At the base of the sacred Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, President Javier Milei of Argentina appeared to be in a spiritual trance. With head and hands pressed against the ancient stone, he prayed with the Orthodox rabbi who introduced him to Judaism three years ago. Although born and raised Roman Catholic, Milei has increasingly shown public interest in Judaism and even expressed intentions to convert.

  • Thousands attend central London protest organised by Tommy Robinson

    Speeches were given by Mr Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley Lennon, Reclaim leader Laurence Fox and political commentator Carl Benjamin.

  • Hamas still strong in areas ‘cleared’ by Israel in northern Gaza, say experts

    Hamas’s ability to return to areas from which it was earlier forced to retreat threatens ‘forever war’

  • America can’t grab the wheel from Netanyahu in Gaza

    Depending on which Israeli official you ask, Israel is either close to a total and complete win over Hamas in Gaza or in the middle of what will be a long, grinding year ahead. On April 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that “we are one step away from victory” after nearly eight long months of combat. Yet Tzachi Hanegbi, Netanyahu’s national security adviser, had an altogether different assessment of the situation this week: “We’re now in the fifth month of 2024, whic

  • Doubts grow over Gaza truce plan as Israel-Hamas battles rage

    Doubts were growing on Monday about a plan for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal outlined by US President Joe Biden, as heavy fighting raged for a third day since his White House address.Israeli government spokesman David Mencer on Monday quoted Netanyahu as saying that the outline Biden presented was only "partial" and that under the plan fighting would only stop temporarily "for the purpose of returning the hostages".

  • Netanyahu May Face a Choice Between a Truce and His Government’s Survival

    JERUSALEM — For months, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has refused to offer a time line for ending the war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a stance that his critics see as a political tactic. But he has been put on the spot by President Joe Biden’s announcement outlining a proposal for a truce. Netanyahu, a conservative, has long juggled competing personal, political and national interests. He now appears to be facing a stark choice between the survival of his hard-line, hawkish go

  • Condemnations mount over Israeli proposal to label UN aid agency a terrorist group

    Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned an Israeli parliamentary bill that seeks to label UNRWA, the main provider of aid for Palestinians in Gaza, a terrorist group, joining a growing number of nations opposed to the proposal. The bill, which passed a preliminary vote in parliament last week, is the product of increasingly tense relations between Israel and the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel has accused the agency of militant links, claiming that hundreds of its employees are members of militant groups, including some who allegedly participated in the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel.

  • Chile joins developing nations rallying behind genocide case against Israel at international court

    Chile has joined a group of nations supporting a genocide case against Israel filed last year at the International Court of Justice. President Gabriel Boric said in a speech to lawmakers Saturday that he was appalled by the humanitarian devastation in Gaza, especially against women and children. “These acts demand a firm and permanent response of the international community,” the president said.

  • White House ‘expects Israel to say yes’ to Gaza peace plan despite early rejection

    The White House has said “it expects Israel to say yes” to a Gaza peace plan despite so far rejecting it.

  • Virgin Atlantic announces it will resume flights to Israel

    Virgin Atlantic has announced it will resume flights between London Heathrow and Israel after it suspended them after the beginning of the conflict with Hamas. Many carriers suspended flights to Israel in October last year after Hamas militants rampaged across the border with Gaza, sparking the nearly eight-month war. Wizz Air resumed operations in March, with British Airways doing the same in April.