Manchester University targeted in protest over complicity in Gaza war

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) – Activists from Palestine Action splattered the entrance to the University of Manchester with red paint on Monday as they staged a protest symbolizing the educational institution’s "complicity in Palestinian bloodshed."

On X, they draw attention to the university's academic partnership with Hebrew University, accusing Manchester University of sending students to study in illegal Israeli settlements.

"They also partner with BAE Systems," the statement said.

A recent report by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a London-based non-governmental organization, has shed new light on the extensive global reach of BAE Systems, the UK’s largest arms manufacturer.

The report highlights the firm’s role in a consortium supplying F-35 fighter jets to Israel which have been used in its ongoing assault on the Gaza Strip.

Given the Arms Trade Treaty’s prohibition on the sale of arms to nations with a high likelihood of human rights abuses, BAE Systems’ dealings with Israel raise serious concerns about compliance with international law.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas which killed around 1,200 people.

Nearly 35,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 78,800 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Over seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that it is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in the enclave.