LONDON, (PIC)
British universities, which transformed during the war of genocide on the Gaza Strip into wide arenas for solidarity with the Palestinians, are no longer isolated from the ongoing political confrontation surrounding the Palestinian cause.
After months of student sit-ins and protests, a joint investigation by Al Jazeera and Liberty Investigates organization reveals an unprecedented escalation in disciplinary measures against pro Palestine students, in a step that observers see as part of efforts to restore the influence that Israel lost in Western academic circles during the war.
Investigations and sanctions against hundreds of students
According to the investigation, 42 British universities opened investigations with up to 236 students and employees because of their participation in activities related to Palestine, while King’s College London topped the list by conducting at least 26 disciplinary investigations, followed by University College London, then Oxford University and Cardiff University.
The measures included official warnings, suspensions from study, lengthy investigations, and academic penalties, in addition to prosecuting students who participated in sit-ins or organized solidarity events with the Gaza Strip.
From solidarity to accountability
The investigation highlighted a number of cases, including the student Khadija, who underwent an investigation that lasted five months after she expressed her resentment in a student group via WhatsApp at discovering that one of the lecturers had previously served in the Israeli army.
Although the protests discussed by the students were not implemented, the university issued an official warning against her, obligated her to write a reflective essay, and also discussed the possibility of referring her to the British anti extremism program Prevent, before backtracking on that.
The measures also affected students who participated in sit-ins to demand the divestment of university investments from companies linked to military industries, while the Egyptian student Osama Ghanem was suspended from study indefinitely, which led to the cancellation of his student visa and exposing him to the risk of deportation.
Counter attack to restore influence
The head of the European Palestinian Council for Political Relations, Majid Al-Zeer, believes that what is happening in British universities cannot be separated from the transformations brought about by the war of genocide in Western public opinion.
Al-Zeer told the PIC that Israel incurred unprecedented strategic losses during the war, especially in distant Western countries that were traditionally considered among the most supportive environments for it, pointing out that part of these losses has become irreplaceable.
He added that Israel, considering that it fought a war it regarded as an existential battle, began following the signing of the ceasefire in October 2025 to pump great capabilities to restore its image and regain its status within Western institutions, foremost of which are universities and academies, utilizing parties and figures close to it that remained silent during the war period.
Targeting centers of influence
Al-Zeer confirmed that what is happening today in Britain, as in a number of countries in Western Europe and the Americas, reflects the existence of a counter war aiming to contain the escalating popular momentum supporting the Palestinian cause.
He explained that these efforts focus on monitoring the sources of strength within the student movement, and knowing the parties and people who lead the demonstrations and protests, with the aim of limiting their influence and reducing the expansion of the solidarity movement within universities.
A new reality that is difficult to retreat from
Despite the escalation of pressures and disciplinary measures, Al-Zeer expressed belief that these attempts will not return the scene to what it was before the war.
He pointed out that the Palestinian cause has witnessed during recent years an unprecedented rooting within Western societies, and its support is no longer limited to student or human rights activity, but has rather extended to political institutions, parties, and electoral programs.
Al-Zeer cited what the British political arena is witnessing, where positions on Palestine have become a present part in the programs of candidates to succeed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, considering that this reflects a political shift that is difficult for Israel to contain or retreat from.
Al-Zeer concluded saying that the measures targeting pro Palestine students represent one of the aspects of the ongoing conflict over narrative and influence within the West, but at the same time they reveal the scale of the transformation brought about by the war of genocide in Western consciousness, stressing that popular and political support for the Palestinian cause has become more established, and that attempts to contain it, despite their escalation, will not succeed in turning the clock back.