LONDON: Universities in the UK and abroad have received calls from students urging them to withdraw from businesses that support Israel's illegal occupation of Palestine.
The action, which also drew support from students in the US, took place on Tuesday on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
According to the Palestinian NGO Friends of Al-Aqsa, this is part of the ongoing #Divest4Palestine student movement, which is growing on campuses around the world.
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The group is concerned with defending the human rights of Palestinians and defending Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, which Muslims consider sacred.
According to the UK-based organisation, "Students will ask their Vice Chancellor to divest four major companies, Rolls-Royce plc, BAE Systems, Hewlett-Packard and Booking.com." Some will also demand divestment from HSBC and Samsung.
According to the FOA, Israel executed Palestinian civilians in Gaza using military equipment supplied by Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Additionally, in its most recent bombardment of Gaza in August, Israel killed 17 Palestinian children, prompting United Nations Representative for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to call its actions "unconscionable".
According to the statement, the drones are made by BAE, and the parts for the fighter aircraft used by Israel to attack Gaza are made by Rolls-Royce.
Hannah, a second-year student, said it was time to seek answers from our vice-chancellor. “Investments made by our university must be ethical. There is no way this institution's money can support the murder of fellow students in Gaza.
The students will also demand that their institutions sever all ties with HP and Booking.com because they believe that HP supplies hardware to Israeli prisons and the Israeli police and that Booking.com provides housing in unauthorized settlements in the Palestinian Territory. promotes.
The FOA said Booking.com has recently begun describing illegal Israeli settlements as being located on "occupied" Palestinian land, feeling the effects of the ongoing global disinvestment campaign, but the online travel agency must move on And this housing should stop being listed altogether. ,
The FOA's head of public affairs, Shmeuel Zordar, said that "the actions demonstrate the depth of support for Palestine in the complexes."
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Students in the UK and elsewhere are calling for radical change. They will no longer tolerate the involvement of their universities in Israel's war crimes.