Leicester University students begin hunger strike over Israel arms ties

Five students at the University of Leicester in the UK have begun a hunger strike, accusing the institution of being “complicit in genocide.” Leicester Action for Palestine, a coalition of university staff and students, issued a statement on Wednesday evening urging the university to cease its business dealings with Barclays Bank. The group alleges that Barclays has “substantial financial links” with companies that sell weapons to Israel.

Barclays Bank responded to the accusations by stating that they merely "trade in the shares of listed companies" based on client instructions and are not "investors" in these companies. Leicester Action for Palestine also demanded that the university disclose its investment information, claiming the institution has “rejected all freedom of information requests.”

The group is calling for the university to terminate research agreements worth £7.5 million ($9.15 million) with Rolls-Royce and Siemens, noting that Rolls-Royce has manufactured weapons supplied to Israel. This hunger strike follows the arrest of 11 people in November of last year, who were suspected of occupying a university building during protests.

The statement said that the strike was “inspired by the hunger strikes of thousands of Palestinian political prisoners in the past, and by the week-plus strike of our comrades at the Swansea encampment.” At Swansea University in Wales, a 28-day student encampment led the university to pledge to divest from Barclays Bank last June.

Leicester Action for Palestine stated, “We will continue to protest the normalisation of violence and genocide on campus and will continue to fight for the basic human rights of the Palestinian people by any means necessary.” They added, “The university cannot on one hand claim to support peace in the Middle East, and on the other hand be in partnership with war profiteers. This hypocrisy must end.”

A spokesperson for the University of Leicester told Middle East Eye: “The health and wellbeing of our students is a priority, and we will continue to work closely with our community to review the concerns raised, whilst urging students involved in any upcoming action to be mindful of their health.”

“The catastrophic events in the Middle East have had a significant impact on our students and staff, including tensions between different views and groups. We strongly condemn the loss of innocent civilian lives and will continue to provide support to all members of our university.”

“Over the past year, we have been in communication with student and staff groups on this issue and are committed to listening to their concerns. This has led the University to review actions that can be taken with companies identified in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, as well as initiatives such as our scholarship program and support for displaced medical professionals.”