UK court permits two universities to shut down pro-Palestinian encampments

A UK court has decided two universities are allowed to shut down pro-Palestinian protest encampments.

Birmingham and Nottingham universities were both awarded summary possession orders by the High Court this week, the BBC reported.

Activists had "many other ways" to engage their right to protest, and the demonstrators had been trespassing, said judge Johnson.

Oliver Edwards, a lawyer representing Mariyah Ali, the sole named defendant in the Birmingham case, said his client was "disheartened by this judgement but remains committed to her cause".

She was mulling an appeal, he said.

"The order from the court will allow us to ensure that we can take action should the need arise to protect the health and safety of our university community on campus and to minimise disruption to students and staff accessing the teaching, learning and research spaces they require," a University of Nottingham spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper.

The Daily Mail reported that a spokesperson for the University of Birmingham said the court's ruling "will help us to ensure that all of our diverse community can go about their business and use the entirety of the university's campus without feeling that there are parts of campus where they cannot go".

An occupation in the London School of Economics' Marshall Building previously ended following a court order.

Pro-Palestinian student protests, including encampments, sprang up at universities in countries including the UK and US amid Israel's war on Gaza, particularly since mid-April.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed 38,345 people, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Thursday.