London's Queen Mary University takes students to court to disperse Gaza encampment

A university in London has taken its students to court to forcibly remove them from an encampment they launched to protest Israel's mass killings of Palestinians in Gaza. 

Queen Mary University in East London presented its case to the High Court on Friday morning after handing its students a possession order on Thursday evening. 

Students launched the encampment last month in response to the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and opposition to the university’s ongoing partnerships with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University.

Court documents shown to Middle East Eye showed the university had used pictures of Muslim students praying Friday prayers and whiteboards advertising Yoga sessions on the front lawn as examples of “unauthorised events” that justify removing the encampment. 

A spokesperson for the Queen Mary student encampment told Middle East Eye that the university had "grossly mischaracterised" the students involved in the encampment. 

"We have been grossly mischaracterised in the papers served to us yesterday by our university," the spokesperson told MEE.

"Many of their claims are not true, and in time our lawyers will be able to prove as much. Students' relationships and communications with the security personnel on campus, [and] our emphasis on safety, is at odds with how we have been depicted. "

The spokesperson added: "It feels absurd that rather than engage in conversations with us, which would be a reasonable means to us taking down the encampment, they would rather pick a legal fight with young students who feel compelled to end our own complicity in genocide.

"It is reasonable to demand that the debt we incur for tuition fees is through ethical partnerships, rather than stained with Palestinian blood."

Local residents from Tower Hamlets have also staged weekly Friday protests to support the encampment outside the gates of Queen Mary University on Mile End Road. 

'Health and safety'

The possession order came after Queen Mary University’s vice chancellor, Colin Bailey, sent an all-student-staff email informing them that they would take its students to court.

In the email, Bailey said university management had attempted to disperse the students on three separate occasions and described the encampment as a “health and safety risk”. 

“The risks include, but are not limited to, our students putting themselves in danger by climbing on our property to display banners and flags, the danger of these items falling or being blown off, potentially onto other people or into the Mile End Road, and a significant fire risk presented by the encampment itself,” Bailey said in his email. 

“We are also aware that the rallies associated with the encampment have become a focal point for individuals whose intent is to cause damage and disruption," he added.

"Members of the encampment are wilfully subverting our processes for inviting speakers and other members of the public onto campus, which are in place to protect our communities’ safety. We cannot guarantee everyone’s safety if these processes are not followed.”

Queen Mary University had not responded to MEE's request for comment by the time of writing. 

Taking inspiration from encampments at American universities, dozens of universities across Britain have launched encampments in response to the ongoing war in Gaza.