LSE becomes first British university to evict pro-Palestine student encampment
Members of the student union’s Palestine Society occupying the Marshall Building at the London School of Economics, May 2024
Areeb Ullah reports in Middle East Eye on 17 June 2024:
A university in London has become the first British institution to evict its students from an encampment for Gaza after receiving a court order to disperse them.
Wearing masks and scarves to cover their faces, students and staff chanted “Free, free Palestine” as dozens of students at the London School of Economics left a university building on Monday which they had occupied for more than 30 days.
Forming a human chain, students frantically threw bin bags full of belongings out of the Marshall Building after the LSE obtained a court order to evict the students by 4pm on Monday. Using megaphones and flags, other students continued to make their presence heard as security staff told them to leave the building because of a court order.
The eviction comes after a hearing on Friday at the Central London County Court that ruled in favour of the LSE and gave them an interim possession order, requiring the encampment to leave the Marshall Building within 24 hours of being served.
A spokesperson for the LSE encampment said they would remain defiant and continue to call for the school to divest despite this latest setback. “The LSE intends to crush our resolve and power, but they cannot engage with us legitimately on ethical or political grounds,” said the encampment spokesperson. “Narrative is our power, and the narrative is on our side now and until Palestine is free.”