Pro-Palestinian protest ends in violence at London University

LONDON - The Beaver

Photo taken from the Beaver website.

Violence erupted yesterday on the campus of the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) following a pro-Palestinian protest staged by the university's Palestine Society, according to the Beaver, the LSE Students' Union newspaper.
 
A mock wall was erected on the campus grounds as part of the “Israeli Apartheid Week” events to re-create the checkpoint system in Israel.
 
Members of the Palestine Society dressed up in Israeli Defense Force uniforms and asked for IDs and papers from those who wanted to pass through the wall while also hurling insults and pretending to use force against them. 
 
Jewish students were disturbed by the demonstrations and began complaining of "harassment and intimidation," according to the student union newspaper.


Water balloons, meanwhile, were thrown at the demonstrations by a group of counter-protesters.
 
Violence later erupted when a member of the Palestine Society was punched in the face.
 
Both sides quickly intervened and the fighting ended when LSE campus security arrived at the scene.
 
LSE Students' Union stated that the Palestine Society members were staging a peaceful demonstration until "a small group of organized individuals ran toward members of the LSESU Palestine Society and threw water bombs which hit several students and knocked over property of the Palestine Society."
 
The LSE Israel Society condemned the violence but "not the anger that caused" it, saying both sides were “victims” since Israeli and Jewish students have felt “targeted and intimidated on campus," the Beaver reported.