“We Are Back”: Students Relaunch Encampment at King’s College London
King’s College London (KCL) students have relaunched their Gaza Solidarity encampment, 24 hours later they received an eviction order.
Exactly a year after their first occupation of the Strand Quadrangle, the student group KCL Stands For Justice (KCLS4J) has once again launched an encampment to reaffirm their rejection of KCL’s “complicity in ‘Israel’s’ genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza” and apply pressure for the University to accept the students demands, newly including the adoption a revised ethical investment exclusion policy.
I visited the encampment on its first full day [13th of May,) where a KCLS4J spokesperson talked me through why they are back, and what they want to achieve. Later that day they would receive an eviction order by KCL management with no negotiation to decamp by 10pm or else face consequences. The students remain steadfast and unmoved and condemn KCL’s embrace of fascistic politics through their repression of the student movement.
“This time around, we are here with a very simple demand: All we want is a commitment from management that they will vote yes on this proposal.”
Their last encampment, one of the many student encampments that appeared across the UK and the world last spring, lasted 68 days, coming to an end after the university ordered their eviction threatening students with non-academic misconduct and a possession order if they did not to comply. Since then, “following a year of so-called negotiations, […] management has done nothing but walk back on its commitments and stall any substantive change to the University policy on ethical investments” reads KCLS4J’s encampment launch letter to the Staff at KCL.
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The KCLS4J spokesperson elaborated saying that “rather than accepting KCLS4J’s demands by divesting or revising its ethical investment exclusion policy, KCL has actually increased its investments in arms companies following [as KCL Vice President of Finance Malcom Ace called it] the global trend of investing more in defence industries”
To combat this, alongside the encampment, both student and staff unions are presenting reports on KCL’s ethical exclusion policy, expanding it to companies that are involved in international law violations, human rights abuses, as well as those specifically sanctioned by the United Nations for their participation in the illegal activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“This time around, we [in the encampment] are here with a very simple demand: All we want is a commitment from management that they will vote yes on this proposal [to expand the ethical exclusion policy].”
In an independent 60-page report into KCL’s investments, the KCL BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) Forum found that, through their investments, KCL is actively complicit in apartheid, occupation and genocide. They report that KCL invests £19.4 million in companies that support or profit from Israel’s apartheid system and illegal occupation of Palestinian territories, with a further £11.9 million invested in the proliferation of weapons systems that are used for the unlawful killing and maiming of Palestinians in violations of International Humanitarian Law. (page 9.]
In July 2024, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion noting (in para 278) that states are under obligation to "take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal situation created by Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” KCL’s investments are in direct violation of this duty.
“The only way we as individuals can stand up against these institutions is through expressing collective action and collective power.”
With growing sentiments of fear around the possible consequences of protest as more violent repression techniques are employed against pro-Palestine comrades across the pond, KCLS4J’s escalation is an expression of their determined solidarity and commitment to their cause and of the wider cause for the liberation of Palestine and the fight against rising militaristic fascism.
The KCLS4J spokesperson emphasised that, as always, “the only way we as individuals can stand up against these institutions is through expressing collective action and collective power. It's only collectively possible for us to weaken the base of these institutions, because, yes, we will be subject to repression and violence, but we know that every step that we take forward and every attempt they take to push us two steps back is only furthering their contradictions and leading to the toppling of these institutions of violence.”
They have responded to their eviction notice by remaining unmoved and steadfast in their encampment. Hanna Kienzler, Professor of Global Health at KCL wrote a letter to their Vice Chancellor Shitiji Kapur emphasising that:
“The demands of our students are aligned with international humanitarian law. King's College London must take a stance against Israel's ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people; fully divest; boycott Israeli academic institution; provide meaningful support for rebuilding the higher education sector in Gaza; and pressure our government to end its political, economic, and military support for Israel.
This is not a matter of opinion - it is what international law, through the ICJ, demands. It is also what is morally and ethically right in the face of atrocity crimes.
Instead of evicting our students, I urge you to meet with them, listen, and find constructive ways to support their demands. Doing so would not only honour our university's obligations under international law, but also affirm our basic commitment to justice and humanity.”
On July 21st, 2025, the KCL Finance Committee will vote on the revised ethical investment exclusion policy, the approval of which will determine whether the students will decamp, or whether they will be forced to remain encamped to fight against the genocidally complicit institution of KCL.
Updates on their demands, achievements and other encampment news can be found at @kclstands4justice on Instagram and on their website https://kclstandsforjustice.com.
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“We have made our choice to stand our ground until our demand is met. We invite you to choose wisely as well because history will not forget. Forever in solidarity, The students of KCL”
(From KCLS4J’s “We Are Back” Instagram post.)
We at TSI stand in full solidarity with our comrades at King’s College London
The Student United Will Never Be Defeated!
❤️🔥📝🇵🇸
thank you for your support and presence!! 🇵🇸🇵🇸