Inside King’s College London’s crackdown on pro-Palestine students

Names marked with an asterisk* person been changed to support identities

London, United Kingdom – Khadija* was conscionable 7 weeks into her grade erstwhile she received an early-morning telephone telephone from her university, King’s College London, that near her frightened and confused.

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The then-18-year-old was told she had made “inappropriate and violative remarks” astir 1 of her lecturers, who had served successful the Israeli army. Over the adjacent 5 months she would spell done a disciplinary process that would spot her banned from attending the lecturer’s classes and ordered to constitute a 2,000-word “reflective” essay. She would besides beryllium considered for referral to the UK government’s “counterterrorism” programme, Prevent, which rights groups person criticised for disproportionately targeting Muslims and lacking transparency.

This each took spot past twelvemonth aft the teen posted successful a pro-Gaza pupil WhatsApp group, saying she had travel crossed her lecturer’s nationalist LinkedIn illustration and felt “sick” to observe they had spent 4 years successful the Israeli service and had reposted and liked contented defending Israel’s attraction of the Palestinians.

At that time, Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza had killed astatine slightest 67,194 people.

Other students responded with protestation suggestions, specified arsenic attending their lectures wearing Palestinian scarves oregon carrying flags, questioning the world “intellectually” astir Gaza, and showing images of slaughtered infants connected the projector, according to messages seen by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates.

Ten days aboriginal – without immoderate of these protests transpiring – Khadija was banned from attending field during the hours of her lecturer’s classes aft the messages were reported to the university.

“It felt similar a humiliation ritual,” said Khadija. “I didn’t cognize galore people, it was the commencement of the twelvemonth … my peers would beryllium like: ‘Why didn’t you travel to people erstwhile you were virtually connected field 2 hours ago?’”

She is 1 of astatine slightest 26 students astatine the assemblage who person faced disciplinary investigations aft engaging successful pro-Palestine protestation enactment betwixt October 2023 and November 2025.

That is the highest of astir British universities, this associated probe by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates has found.

We submitted Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to 156 universities. A full of 42 person launched investigations into arsenic galore arsenic 236 pro-Gaza students and staff, information obtained from FOI laws and documents shared by those affected show.

University College London opened astatine slightest 24 disciplinary cases, the 2nd highest amount, the University of Oxford is 3rd with 18 and Cardiff University has opened 12. As astatine King’s, the existent fig whitethorn beryllium higher than officially disclosed via accusation requests.

Student national leader: King’s tries to ‘weaponise arbitrary investigations’

King’s is location to an progressive pupil protestation movement, with demonstrations often erupting implicit the university’s links to weapons companies. It besides has a beardown planetary contingent; 7 of the students taxable to investigations are connected visas.

A King’s spokesperson said the assemblage “does not subject students for lawful affiliations, including enactment for pro-Palestine views”, nor for lawful protest, and that “any accusation different is simply untrue”.

Disciplinary measures are taken aft a ailment is made, and lone successful effect to behaviour which threatens the information oregon escaped look of others, oregon which is racist oregon abusive, they added.

They said, “We are arrogant to invited a diverseness of governmental views, spiritual beliefs, and backgrounds, and person a agelong past of hosting lawful protests and vigils, and fundamentally cull immoderate different characterisation.”

But Luqmaan Waqar, president-elect of King’s students’ union, said that portion definite cases required attention, specified arsenic those wherever unit and students felt unsafe, and information were said to person been injured, the university’s attack has been uneven. He accused the assemblage of trying to “weaponise arbitrary investigations to dissuade information successful protest”.

Luqmaan Waqar, president-elect of King’s students’ union, said King’s College London has successful effect attempted to discourage radical from protesting [Anealla Safdar/Al Jazeera]

The UN peculiar rapporteur for state of peaceful assembly and association, Gina Romero, told us, “The weaponisation of assemblage disciplinary frameworks astatine institutions similar King’s … is utterly disturbing”. King’s has go “a flashpoint” successful the wider inclination of universities repressing pupil activism, she added.

Thirteen of the 26 students were investigated for their engagement successful an encampment protestation astatine the assemblage which began successful May 2025, documents show. Nine of these received ceremonial warnings for mounting up tents connected field successful breach of a wellness and information argumentation introduced aft a erstwhile encampment successful the summertime of 2024. Two received ceremonial warnings for lending their keycards to entree field buildings to non-students and 2 for filming information and asking them questions successful a mode they reported to beryllium intimidating.

Among those sanctioned for mounting up tents was Hamza*, a 21-year-old of Lebanese heritage, who said the radical decided to enactment aft negotiations with assemblage enactment astir divesting from companies said to beryllium complicit successful Israel’s subject enactment successful Gaza deed a ceramic wall.

Unlike with the archetypal encampment, the university’s crackdown connected the 2nd was swift, helium claimed. Security staff, antecedently friendly, present refused students introduction to assemblage buildings to usage toilets, locking doors unopen with motorcycle chains, helium said. Within a day, students had reportedly been served an eviction notice. In little than 3 weeks, they ended the encampment.

Three months later, Hamza received a missive saying helium was nether investigation. Eventually, helium was issued a ceremonial warning. He appealed, asking the assemblage to bespeak connected whether it was “sacrificing its principles of escaped speech, pupil democracy, and tolerance successful speech for higher returns connected investment”.

But aft the assemblage took implicit 5 months to put a hearing, helium gave up and accepted the ceremonial warning.

“For a agelong time, I couldn’t spell backmost into the [campus]. It conscionable made maine precise upset,” helium said.

‘I consciousness arsenic if I’ve been silenced’

Another pupil protester, who was issued a informing for mounting up a tent, fears the occurrence could perchance interaction his desired career. The acquisition has enactment him disconnected participating successful pupil activism.

The 24-year-old said, “I consciousness arsenic if I’ve been silenced. Their volition was to enactment fearfulness into me, and it worked.”

Of the remaining students, six were sanctioned implicit their engagement successful protests aiming to disrupt 3 abstracted events: a June 2024 Alumni dinner; a speech by a pro-Israel Iranian talker successful February 2025 and the May 2025 London Defence Conference hosted by the university. Documents amusement that astatine 1 of these events, 2 information guards were injured unintentionally arsenic a effect of pushing and shoving.

Usama Ghanem, an Egyptian student, was among those disciplined. He was indefinitely suspended for his engagement successful each 3 incidents, starring to his visa being revoked and leaving him astatine hazard of being deported to his location country, wherever helium says helium has been tortured.

Two much cases were for societal media posts, 2 others for unspecified “offensive and abusive behaviour”. There were 2 for “holding inappropriate banners” and 1 for refusing to amusement ID erstwhile asked.

At the bosom of this flashpoint appears to prevarication a hostility betwixt the values of the instauration and immoderate of its students and staff.

In April, Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates revealed that King’s was 1 of a twelve UK universities to person paid a backstage quality steadfast to show the societal media of pupil protesters, including those who expressed solidarity with Palestine.

Last year, the King’s subdivision of the University and College Union (UCU), which represents staff, became the archetypal successful the state to prosecute a onslaught ballot implicit the institution’s refusal to divest from companies said to beryllium complicit successful Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. While galore voted for onslaught action, the turnout was not precocious capable to transportation retired the protest.

King’s and its ‘connections’ to the defence industry

Senior unit members and a King’s subdivision UCU typical claimed assemblage enactment has stalled connected negotiations due to the fact that it sees the institution’s semipermanent aboriginal successful defence manufacture funding. This logic whitethorn person fuelled the clampdown, they said.

Mayssoun Sukarieh, an world astatine King’s who helped nutrient a study connected the university’s “connections” to the Israeli ministry, assorted defence companies and pro-Israel funders, said, “If you beryllium connected [their] money, past determination volition beryllium influence.”

The report, published by King’s Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Forum successful November 2024, recovered that the assemblage had invested 20 cardinal pounds ($27m) of its endowment successful companies “complicit successful genocide, apartheid, amerciable occupation, and ecocide,” specified arsenic the tech institution Palantir. The study was dedicated to 2 King’s alumni killed by Israel, the Palestinian surgeon Adnan Al Bursh and Maisara Alrayyes, a Chevening student who completed a Master’s successful Women and Children’s Health.

By December 2025, the university’s concern successful Palantir, a institution which has a concern with the Israeli Ministry of Defence, had reportedly risen to 159,596 pounds ($213,204), according to an probe by the pupil paper Roar.

In May, King’s announced plans to merge with Cranfield University – an engineering-focused assemblage that besides has beardown ties to weapons companies.

Since 2020, King’s has received astatine slightest 3.3 cardinal pounds ($4.4m) from probe partnerships with weapons companies BAE Systems, Thales and Rolls Royce, according to an FOI response. These each nutrient components for F-35 jets utilized to weaponry Gaza, according to the Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

Sukarieh said past supporters of the yearly London Defence Conference person included the Pinsker Centre, a deliberation vessel founded successful 2016 arsenic a centre for “Zionist education,” successful effect to what its leaders described arsenic the “annual hysteria of Israeli Apartheid Week”.

King’s besides collaborates with the Royal College of Defence Studies, whose enactment reportedly discussed distancing themselves from the UK government’s September 2025 determination to prohibition Israelis from attending.

Another root of interest for pro-Palestinian students has been the beingness of erstwhile Israeli service soldiers among the university’s teaching staff. At slightest 3 members of module person antecedently served, including Khadija’s lecturer.

Days aft being banned from classes, Khadija was called into a gathering for unit to see referring her to Prevent. In the end, nary referral was made.

At a disciplinary hearing, Khadija expressed regret for her WhatsApp posts and told assemblage officials she did not mean to intimidate oregon harass her lecturer and intended lone to deterioration a keffiyeh to the class, which she believed fell wrong her close to escaped speech.

But the assemblage concluded that Khadija “created the conditions successful which the lecturer became a target” by initiating the WhatsApp discussion, according to a disciplinary result letter.

Her program to deterioration a keffiyeh to people “was intended to lend to an intimidating environment”, officials wrote.

The lecturer told the assemblage they “felt personally targeted successful a mode they had ne'er experienced before” and were “worried astir the anticipation of carnal violence”, the missive added.

She was ordered to constitute the essay, which she yet did, oregon look being prevented from graduating. A ceremonial informing is recorded connected her pupil file.

“It truly messed maine up,” Khadija, who is owed to statesman her 2nd year, said of the five-month-long disciplinary process.

Aaron Walawalkar is an investigative writer astatine Liberty Investigates and a 2026 Bertha Challenge Fellow. He produced this enactment arsenic portion of the Bertha Challenge Fellowship.