This morning, Oxford Action for Palestine (OA4P) continued the protest by entering the University Administration Offices located in Wellington Square to begin a “sit-in”. According to the group, the aim of this action was to “engage in dialogue with the Vice Chancellor”. Shortly after the protestors entered the building, it was evacuated by staff. The protestors occupied a first floor office.
Shortly after the sit-in was announced on the group’s Instagram page, another announcement was posted declaring that “mass arrests” were taking place. A post by Cambridge for Palestine, the co-launched group for Palestinian solidarity, states that 16 people have been arrested in Oxford, as of 12 p.m.
Other OA4P protestors joined those at the University’s offices, creating a blockade outside the building. In videos posted to their Instagram, a banner with the group’s demands can be seen hanging from the building. Protestors stand in front of lines of police chanting “Let them go, 40,000 people dead, you arrest students instead” and “Oxford all through history, committed to complicity”. A video was also posted showing a police officer using force on protestors to keep them back. More videos were posted on OA4P’s Instagram page, showing interactions with the police in which OA4P protestors stated that they were told they could not leave the office they were occupying and that they had their phones confiscated.
In a series of recent stories posted on OA4P’s Instagram, the group appear to be directing particular attention towards Irene Tracey, Oxford University’s Vice Chancellor, with text reading: “Irene Irene you’re a liar, we demand a ceasefire” and “Irene is too scared to chat, only cops have got her back”.
The Oxford University and College Union (Oxford UCU) has also posted the following statement to their X account: “We have written to the VC [Vice Chancellor, Irene Tracey] urging them to call off the police, release those who have already been arrested, and engage students and staff in negotiations in relation to Palestine as they have repeatedly requested over the past weeks. We continue to stand in solidarity with OA4P and the demands they are raising.”
Little Clarendon Street is now (as of 1p.m.) on lockdown, with students blocking the road leading to the University’s offices. Students are still being held in the building, and protestors remain outside. Currently, both police presence and protester presence is high around the administration buildings, with more police cars and vans arriving.