British Museum in London closed due to protest against its partnership with UK energy firm

By Behlul Cetinkaya

LONDON (AA) – The British Museum in London was closed on Sunday afternoon due to a protest at its main entrance over its partnership with BP, a UK multinational oil and gas company that is exploring natural gas off the coast of Gaza in collaboration with Israel.

The UK-based protest group Energy Embargo for Palestine denounced gas exploration off Gaza and called on the museum's administration to end its partnership with BP.

The museum's management and police closed the museum’s doors to visitors.

According to a British media report, BP will contribute £50 million (approximately $63 million) to the museum's renovation plans over the next 10 years.

The group wrote on X: "During Israel’s ongoing genocidal siege on Gaza, BP was given the green light to search for gas in occupied Palestinian waters. BP is also fuelling the Zionist war machine through its imperialist production and export of Azerbaijani oil to Israelis."

The protest, which lasted about two hours and included both museum visitors and locals, concluded at the museum's closing time.

London Metropolitan Police said no arrests were made during the protest.

*Alperen Aktas contributed to the story from Istanbul