Pro-Palestine protesters set up an encampment on the lawn between King’s College and Senate House on Tuesday evening (24/06), immediately following a city-wide march.

The encampment is the fourth established by Cambridge for Palestine (C4P) this term. It came on the same day that Magdalene College obtained a High Court injunction to remove the encampment from its grounds, while injunctions previously secured by Trinity and St John’s Colleges were also extended that day for a further year.

This latest encampment was established next to the graduation lawn of Senate House the day before the University of Cambridge will award honorary degrees to several high-profile figures, including the musician Stormzy and the political activist Angela Davis.

A spokesperson for C4P described the ceremony as “a way to whitewash their [the University’s] own crimes, while they invest in hundreds of millions of pounds that are bombed down on Palestinian children, that enforce their ongoing starvation… [and] the separation of mothers, children, fathers, and that constantly kill and murder”.

Organised by C4P, the city-wide protest began in the early evening on Mill Road with over 200 participants marching towards the city centre, where tents were set up on King’s Parade.

On the march, framed by C4P as a show of “unity in Cambridge of the whole community,” campaigners chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “We are all Palestinian” among other songs.

Attendees also heard from speakers at the beginning of the demonstration. Professor Tony Booth, who is running to become Chancellor of the University, told protesters: “I stand here as a Jew opposed to genocide – how could a Jew not be opposed to this genocide?”

Praising the previous student encampments, he said they had “lived out the values of the University” by “questioning the actions of the University and its colleges”. Booth also led demonstrators in singing an adapted version of Bella Ciao, rewritten in solidarity with Palestine.

Other speakers included representatives from Cambridge Community Kitchen and local campaigners, who accused the University of being “complicit in 107 years of genocide” through its investments in arms companies such as Elbit Systems and Palantir. A minute’s silence was also held.

As the encampment was established, banners were displayed, with one reading: “You can’t fence off every piece of land”.

The University itself obtained a separate High Court injunction in March covering Senate House, Old Schools, and Greenwich House, aiming to protect access to official events and key administrative buildings. The current camp is located just outside the area covered by that injunction, which expires in July.

This comes days after the Office for Students (OfS) issued new guidance limiting universities’ ability to restrict student protests.

The encampment is situated directly next to King’s College. In May, King’s became one of the first Cambridge colleges to publicly commit to excluding investments in companies involved in “illegal occupation”.

C4P has announced plans to host a “people’s graduation” on King’s Parade today (25/06), inviting the recipients of the University’s honorary degrees to address the protesters instead, and urging them to reject their honours in solidarity with Palestinians.

The University of Cambridge has been contacted for comment.