Gaza protest students on hunger strike
Students taking part in a hunger strike in a call for a ceasefire in Gaza have been urged not to take risks with their health or wellbeing.
A group of students from Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society (EUJPS) have been on hunger strike for much of the week.
They are camped outside the university’s Old College calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict, and have said they refuse to be educated by a university that “directly contributed to the colonialisation of Palestine through its close ties with Lord Arthur Balfour”.
He was the British prime minister who in 1917 – while also serving as the university’s chancellor – said in the Balfour Declaration that the UK Government supported the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
In a statement posted on the university’s website, Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, principal and vice-chancellor, thanked the group for having led a peaceful protest and for not creating obstruction for staff and other students.
He added: “Our primary concern has always been and will always be the safety, security and wellbeing of all members of our university community.
“There will be people with views very different from yours: they are also welcome to express them in peaceful and lawful ways. A university should be a place where the most sensitive, topical and complex matters can be openly debated in an atmosphere of respect.
“We have very recently been notified of the intention of an unknown number of students to commence a hunger strike as an indication of their strength of feeling and determination around issues related to Palestine and Israel.
“Whilst we recognise their bodily autonomy, we appeal to them and others not to take risks with their own health, safety and wellbeing.
“We are in daily contact with the protesters to ensure they are aware of the health and wellbeing support available to them.”
Students from more than a dozen UK universities, including Aberdeen, Oxford and Cambridge, are taking part in protests.
We appeal to them and others not to take risks with their own health