Reporting by Euan Elliott, Selina Chen, Ila Banerji, Laurence Cooke, Seb Page, Conor Walsh, Charlie Bailey, Bryn Mollet, Georgia Campbell, and Peter Chen.
This story includes chronological updates.
Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) have established an occupation of the Radcliffe Camera Library, after disbanding their encampment in July of this year. Protesters threw books out of the window, in order to use them as weights to hold down flags. Fire and Rescue as well as police have arrived, approaching the dome with bolt cutters.
Unlike last term, when tents were set up around the library, an occupation of the library itself is currently taking place. OA4P have dubbed this new occupation “Khalida Jarrar Library” after a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, an organisation designated a “terrorist organisation” by the US and the European Union, but not by the UK.
At 9am this morning, a group of people entered the Rad Cam in masks and gave people one minute to leave. Shortly afterwards, security arrived, preventing access to the library from the main entrance as well as from the entrance via the Gladstone Link.
A protester with a megaphone, who was standing on a ledge of the library told onlookers that this action was “made necessary after the university ceased contact with OA4P”, demanding a “complete divestment from all Israeli interests and an overhaul of the ethical investment policy.”
This comes after the university threatened legal action in the form of a court order last term, shortly before OA4P disbanded their encampment. When Cherwell asked OA4P about the court order, they claimed that the eviction notice only stated “you must not return to the land for purposes of an encampment.”
An official spokesperson told Cherwell that the occupation will only end “when the University publicly agrees to meet all six of OA4P’s demands within a defined timeframe.”
In an official statement: OA4P said “As Palestinians in Gaza are finally allowed a moment to breathe, grieve, return, and begin rebuilding their homes, mosques, churches, schools, and hospitals, our efforts must be redoubled. It is imperative to continue pressuring and disrupting the systems and powers that sustain the zionist project. To take our eyes off of Gaza now would be an abdication of our responsibility to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.”
Updates at 1:45pm:
Following discussion between members of OA4P inside the library and police and staff – including a pro-vice chancellor – police entered the building. The police then surrounded the building, blocking the entrance to the Rad Cam.
A small number of protesters from a rally that was meant to be taking place on Cornmarket street arrived outside the Rad Cam and began to chant.
The protesters by the Rad Cam window announced through a loudspeaker that it was no longer a University matter, but a police matter, and that the police had made it clear they were going to begin arresting people in due course.
Several police officers with specialised climbing equipment have entered, and some have been stationed on the roof.
A University spokesperson told Cherwell: “We thoroughly condemn the disruption and distress caused to members of the University by the actions of these individuals. While the University supports the right to peaceful protest, this action plainly goes beyond the bounds of acceptable protest and is a clear risk to the safety of protesters, students, staff and members of the public. It is preventing students from using the resources and space of the library to pursue their education. It is also putting at risk on a historic building and its contents. The protesters are in breach of University regulations and policies and we will be enforcing the University’s disciplinary policies.”
Updates at 2:45pm:
Multiple police officers with specialised climbing equipment have entered, and some are stationed on the roof. One officer entered carrying a stretcher.
A student told Cherwell that the police brought a person into a van and, despite protesters’ attempts to block the van, it left via New College Lane.
An OA4P spokesperson told Cherwell that “arrests have been made and actionists taken away in vans, but not all of the actionists.”
Five hours after their initial appearance, a group of protesters remain huddled outside on the ledge of a Rad Cam window.
Updates at 4pm:
An officer abseiled from the roof down to the ledge, where three protesters remained. Another officer exited the window and put a restraining jacket on one of the protesters.
The officer then clipped the protester onto the same abseiling gear, and together, the two abseiled down and reached the ground. The protesters raised their gloved fists throughout their arrest.
On the ground, a physical confrontation took place between the protesters and the police as the police tried to prevent them from blocking vans from leaving. Police and protesters pushed one another, with protesters falling to the ground.
Updates at 4:45pm:
The Fire Brigades Union General Secretary Steve Wright released a statement on X saying: “Firefighting is a humanitarian profession, completely independent of law enforcement (…) and does not include assisting the police response to protests or the removal of protestors”
“The Fire Brigades Union advises all firefighters to refuse to participate in law enforcement activities alongside the police. We have a long history of supporting the right to protest, as well as peace and justice for Palestine.”
Updates at 5:30pm:
Around 5pm, the final protesters were carried to Broad Street by the police and taken away in vans.
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