BREAKING: University Board opens discussions with Warwick pro-Palestine demonstrators

The University of Warwick has agreed to open discussions with student-staff protest movement Warwick Stands With Palestine, following months of demonstrations by the group.

This will see the University commence formal dialogue pertaining to each of the coalition’s demands, focused around ‘divesting’ from the defence sector.

The news follows prolonged campaigning by Warwick Stands With Palestine both on and off campus, spanning the last nine months since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas War in October of last year.

Throughout their campaign, the group – a coalition of over 70 student and staff organisations – organised frequent demonstrations on campus.

The establishment of a protest encampment in April on the campus piazza, the first of its kind in the UK, marked a significant escalation in protests, which became weekly by the end of the academic year.

This occupation is a clear demonstration that creating pressure through direct action is a an effective tool in forcing institutional change

WMG IDL demonstrator

The coalition’s most recent efforts saw them occupy the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) International Digital Laboratory (IDL) building two weeks ago, lasting through two university Open Days.

This act marked the first time that a WMG building had been occupied since the group’s inception in the 1980s.

Now, after receiving confirmation from University Management that a formal dialogue will take place, Warwick Stands With Palestine announced yesterday that they will end their occupation of the IDL building.

One protestor, who chose to remain anonymous, said that it was “absurd” that the group had needed to resort to such lengths to secure guarantees of negotiations with the University, but expressed their happiness at having achieved this at last.

They added that: “This occupation is a clear demonstration that creating pressure through direct action is a an effective tool in forcing institutional change.”

Another demonstrator credited the “popular support from the masses on campus” for the occupation’s success, citing the “pivotal” support of food and manpower from students.

We are more determined than ever to achieve all of our demands in their entirety

Warwick Stands With Palestine statement

In an update to staff, the University stated that while a ban on access to University House would be lifted from Monday 1 July, access until then would remain restricted, whilst checks to ensure that the IDL is “safe” are carried out before it can reopen.

Warwick Stands with Palestine said in a public statement that if negotiations were to fall through, the group would be ready to employ “similar means in the future”.

Celebrating what they called a ‘successful occupation’, the coalition said that: “We are more determined than ever to achieve all of our demands in their entirety.”

The University of Warwick was approached for comment.