Gaza protests: Oxford University students deliver Gaza demands

Protesters hung their list of demands on the gates of the Sheldonian Theatre on Wednesday

Hundreds of students protesting the war in Gaza have marched through Oxford to deliver a list of demands.

Protest camps, described as "liberated zones", have been set up near Oxford University campuses.

On Wednesday, protesters hung a list of demands up at the gates of the Sheldonian Theatre for the vice chancellor.

The university has previously expressed "profound sympathy for those suffering in Gaza, Israel and the West Bank".

On the list of demands, protesters called for the university to disclose all finances, overhaul university investment policy, boycott "Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation" and stop banking with Barclays.

In a statement, the University of Oxford previously said it was aware of the latest protests and its students and staff members had a "right to freedom of expression in the form of peaceful protests".

In the past week, pro-Palestinian protesters have set up tents outside university buildings in cities including Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle as well as at Goldsmiths, University of London.

Protesters demanded the university cut financial ties with Israel following its offensive in Gaza

More than 33,000 people have been killed in Israel's offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry there says, the majority of them civilians.

On Thursday, the Union of Jewish Students said the encampments were creating a "hostile and toxic atmosphere" on campuses and called on universities to "take their duty of care to Jewish students seriously".

Israel rejects accusations that it is engaging in genocidal acts in its campaign in Gaza, and has insisted it has the right to defend itself following the armed incursion by Hamas on 7 October.

The leaders of 17 universities have now met the prime minister to discuss the protests and steps they should take to tackle antisemitism.

It comes after Prof Dame Sally Mapstone, president of Universities UK, said they "may need to take action" if protests against the Israel-Gaza war interfere with life on campus.

The BBC has approached the university for an updated comment about the protest demands.

Thousands of protesters filled Broad Street to deliver the demands to the university vice chancellor

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