Pro-Palestine activists storm Glasgow building & hold ‘sit-in'
Demonstrators say they took action after bosses refused to boycott Israel
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
PRO-Palestine activists stormed an arts hub after vandals defaced Glasgow University's iconic building with red paint.
More than 200 protesters mobbed the Centre for Contemporary Arts with around 20 getting inside after bosses locked the doors in a bid to stop them creating a 'liberation zone'.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
4
Protesters took action due to centre chiefs' refusals to back a boycott of Israel
Credit: artworkersforpalestinescotland
4
Around 20 activists mounted a peaceful 'sit-in' after gaining access to the CCA in Glasgow city centre
Credit: artworkersforpalestinescotland
4
Dozens more chanted as they stood outside the locked centre
Credit: artworkersforpalestinescotland
4
Demonstrators held study groups outside after being blocked from entering the CCA
Credit: artworkersforpalestinescotland
A woman, 63, was arrested after allegations a police officer was punched.
Hours earlier anti-Israel graffiti was scrawled and paint hurled over the historic uni a mile away.
One demonstrator told The Scottish Sun: 'One of the organisers managed went inside but was forcibly removed by security guards.
'The doors were locked.
'I think a delivery guy opened them and 20 more got inside.
'Police moved in and told them nobody was leaving until they provided their personal details.
'Outside a woman was dragged by three officers and put in the back of a van.
'There was a big line of police cars down the street and drivers were tooting their horns.'
Art Workers For Palestine Scotland urged supporters to descend on the city centre culture hub after it was stopped from carrying out a five-day 'spontaneous programme takeover'.
The group claimed activists were 'kettled' by police after they skirted security to gain entry to a foyer as an "act of reclaiming".
Five Glasgow University students have been on hunger strike for a week as they warn 'we will not stop'
Organisers wanted to create a "liberated zone of resistance, learning and artistic solidarity with Palestine".
Dozens more blocked the entrance as crowds grew restless outside.
Some yelled at cops, chanting "pigs aren't workers — get a real job" and "who do you protect, who do you serve?".
A woman was seen being pulled by the arms by cops to a waiting marked van as a protester with a megaphone chased behind shouting: 'Shame on you, Police Scotland.'
It is believed the arts centre was targeted because its board refused to back a boycott of Israel and have supported streaming service MUBI which has links to a defence technology company from the country.
At least eight police cars and vans were sent to the scene, with around six people wearing orange hi-vis vests with 'observer' on them watching on as a small group printed canvas banners using paint and rollers on the pavement.
Signs with 'Free Palestine', 'Hypocrites Stink' and 'Are you guys not embarrassed' were stuck to the outside of the windows during the demonstration which began around noon yesterday.
Art Workers For Palestine Scotland claimed centre chiefs are "complicit in genocide" by refusing to boycott Israel and MUBI in an online statement.
It said: "CCA will never stop the work of liberation.
"They are letting Israel in and shutting Palestine out."
Other anti-Israel slogans and red triangles were daubed over Glasgow Uni's 19th-century Gilbert Scott building after it was attacked the previous night.
Activists are believed to have vandalised the country's second oldest learning centre over funding for arms firms supplying Israel.
A spokesman said: 'The University of Glasgow upholds the right to freedom of expression, including the right of staff and students to engage in peaceful demonstrations.
'However, we do not tolerate criminal activities or those which interfere with the rights of others to go about their business in peace.'
Police Scotland confirmed it had received a report of vandalism at the uni and lifted one person at the arts centre demo.
A spokesman said: 'We received a report of a disturbance involving a large group on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.
'Officers attended and engaged with those present.
'The group later dispersed.
'A 63-year-old woman has been arrested and charged in connection, and is expected to appear at court at a later date.'
The CCA has been approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Israel-Iran live news: Iranian nuclear program could restart in months, Pentagon finds, as fragile ceasefire holds
Update: Date: 2025-06-25T01:21:36.000Z Title: Opening summary Content: Welcome to our rolling coverage of the Israel-Iran war. The shaky ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding after Donald Trump expressed deep frustration with both sides for violating the agreement he brokered. Israel earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect. The Iranian military denied firing on Israel. But while Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Israel had brought Iran's nuclear program 'to ruin', an initial classified US assessment of Trump's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months, according to two people familiar with the report. The report produced by the Defence Intelligence Agency – the Pentagon's intelligence arm – concluded key components of the nuclear program, including centrifuges, were capable of being restarted within months. The report also found that much of Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium was moved before the strikes. The report also contradicts statements from Trump, who has said the Iranian nuclear program was 'completely and fully obliterated'. The White House called the assessment 'flat-out wrong'. In other key developments: Iran and Israel both said they would honour the ceasefire if the other side did the same. Earlier on Tuesday Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would respect the ceasefire announced by Trump, provided that Israel also upholds its terms. 'If the Zionist regime does not violate the ceasefire, Iran will not violate it either,' he said. Hours later, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said he told his US counterpart Pete Hegseth that 'Israel will respect the ceasefire – as long as the other side does'. Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear project. Describing his war on Iran as a 'historic victory' that 'will stand for generations', the Israeli prime minister claimed that Israel, in its 12 days of war with Iran, had removed 'the threat of nuclear annihilation'. He also said he had 'no intention of easing off the gas pedal' and Israel 'must complete' its campaign against the Iranian axis, to defeat Hamas and to bring about the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Netanyahu also declared that Israel 'never had a better friend that President Trump in the White House'. His comments came only hours after Trump directed stinging criticism at Israel over the scale of strikes Trump said violated the truce with Iran negotiated by Washington, with the US president saying: 'Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before, the biggest load that we've seen. We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing.' Israel's leadership was reportedly 'stunned' and 'embarrassed' by Trump's rebuke. Iran's air space would reopen on Tuesday night, Iranian state news reported, while Israel Home Front Command said Israeli citizens could resume full activity without restriction for most of the country and that Ben-Gurion and Haifa airports would return to full operations. Donald Trump said China can continue to purchase Iranian oil, a move the White House clarified did not indicate a relaxation of US sanctions. At the United Nations, France and its European partners are still prepared to reactivate sanctions on Iran if an agreement is not reached soon on its nuclear program, the French ambassador to the UN has warned.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: profanity and push-back over success of Iran strikes
The US president's shocking outburst at Iran and Israel capped a drama-filled 24 hours for Donald Trump, America, the Middle East and the world. As both sides defied his ceasefire, Trump lashed out, his anger and frustration clearly visible as he swore on live television. Trump later called Israel's prime minister to demand he stop bombing Iran. With the fragile ceasefire seeming to hold, there was some unwelcome news via a report from the Pentagon, which said the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities were not quite as successful as Trump had claimed. Here are the key stories at a glance: Donald Trump reacted furiously after an Israel-Iran ceasefire he brokered and took credit for was violated within a few hours. 'Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I've never seen before, the biggest load that we've seen,' he said, in the strongest-worded public rebuke of Israel of any US president in history. 'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the fuck they're doing.' Read the full story An initial classified US assessment of Donald Trump's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend says they did not destroy two of the sites and likely only set back the nuclear program by a few months, according to two people familiar with the report. The report produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency – the intelligence arm of the Pentagon – concluded key components of the nuclear program including centrifuges were capable of being restarted within months. Read the full story The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency is continuing to arrest an increasing number of immigrants without any criminal history, according to recent federal government data reviewed by the Guardian, demonstrating a further dramatic surge in this trend. The latest available data, released by Ice last Friday, appears to contradict Trump administration officials' frequent assertions that the agency is prioritizing the pursuit of criminals in its immigration enforcement operations. Read the full story The Federal Reserve is well placed to wait and see how tariffs affect US prices before cutting interest rates, its chair, Jerome Powell, insisted, defying renewed demands from Donald Trump. The US president has disregarded the central bank's longstanding independence to repeatedly call for rate cuts to spur economic growth and launch a series of personal attacks on Powell. Read the full story Emil Bove, the Department of Justice's principal associate deputy attorney general, who Donald Trump nominated for the US court of appeals for the third circuit, reportedly said the department 'would need to consider telling the courts 'fuck you'' when it came to orders blocking the deportation of undocumented people. Read the full story New Yorkers headed to the polls in a primary election that is both likely to decide the city's next mayor and have major political implications for the future of the Democratic party. The race pits two drastically different Democrats against one another. Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist endorsed by the progressive wing of the Democratic party, is the main challenger to Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor who has been backed by the party's centrists and billionaire donors. Read the full story Trump shared a private text message from Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, which said: 'You are flying into another big success,' as he travelled to the Nato summit. A US marine veteran said he feels 'betrayed' after immigration agents beat and arrested his father at his landscaping job. A jury awarded $500,000 to the widow of a police officer who killed himself nine days after he helped defend the US Capitol during the 2021 riot. The Trump administration will rescind protections that prevent logging on nearly a third of national forest lands, the US agriculture secretary announced. Catching up? Here's what happened on 24 June 2025.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
With Iran, Trump places the biggest bet yet in his high-stakes presidency
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Like the casino owner he once was, President Donald Trump has shown an appetite for risk during the first months of his administration. The U.S. airstrike on Iran, however, may represent Trump's largest gamble yet. While the potential for political reward is high and largely dependent on whether Trump can maintain the fragile peace he is trying to forge between Iran and Israel, experts say, there is a downside risk of events spiraling out of Trump's control while a skeptical American public watches. For now, Trump appears to have won his bet that he could limit U.S. involvement and force the parties to a ceasefire. 'He wagered,' said Firas Maksad, managing director for the Middle East and North Africa practice at Eurasia Group. 'Things went his way.' It remains to be seen whether the ceasefire will hold. Early Tuesday, Trump expressed frustration that Israel had launched an attack on Tehran hours after the president had declared a break in the hostilities. If the agreement doesn't stick - or if Iran ultimately retaliates militarily or economically - Trump risks fragmenting the America First coalition that helped power him back into office by rendering what his movement stands for increasingly nebulous and ill-defined. 'If six months from now, Iran continues to be a problem, it will grind down the MAGA coalition,' said Chris Stirewalt, a political analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute. Trump, in a sense, has already diluted the MAGA brand, Stirewalt said, by doing what he swore on the campaign trail he wouldn't: involve the United States in another conflict in the Middle East. And Trump's messaging may already show the challenges that could be faced with winning approval from his base. Last Thursday, Trump said he would take as long as two weeks to determine whether the U.S. would join the war on Israel's side, arguing the time was needed to lower the temperature. Instead, two days later, he approved the bomber run, not only likely catching the Iranians off guard but many Americans as well. His choice to hit Iran could also pose problems for whichever Republican tries to claim his mantle in the next presidential election. 'In 2028, the question of foreign intervention will be a dividing line. It will be a litmus test as people struggle to define what MAGA is,' Stirewalt said. The White House largely left it to Vice President JD Vance, one of the most isolationist members of the administration, to defend the Iranian strike on a Sunday news program. Vance is viewed as one inheritor of the MAGA movement after Trump leaves office, and would be forced to reconcile his support of the strike with his personal politics. Iran has not been the only example of where Trump has bet big and the payoff remains elusive. His on-again-off-again use of tariffs has sparked uncertainty in markets and stoked inflation fears. His efforts to slash the government bureaucracy have lost momentum with the departure of Elon Musk from his circle of advisers. His hardline immigration push sparked protests across the country. But if Trump does succeed in his efforts to push Iran to abandon its nuclear weapon ambitions, it would make for a legacy-building achievement in a region that has bedeviled U.S. presidents for decades and seen the nation pulled into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Trump campaigned on ending the "forever wars" -- which may be one reason why the American public appears to be jittery about his aggression toward Iran. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday, and conducted before the ceasefire was announced, showed that only 36% of those surveyed supported the strikes against Iran's nuclear program. Overall, Trump's approval rating fell to 41%, a new low for his second term. His foreign policy received even lower marks. Dave Hopkins, an expert on U.S. politics at Boston College, said that with his seemingly sudden move to launch an attack, Trump neglected to make a case in advance to the American people that the strike was in U.S. interests. 'We have not seen discussion of Iran as a major enemy of the U.S. or a threat to the U.S.,' Hopkins said. The White House defended Trump's actions as vital and successful. 'In just 48 hours, President Trump accomplished what his predecessors have only dreamed about – Iran's nuclear capabilities are obliterated following the flawless execution of Operation Midnight Hammer, a ceasefire has been brokered to conclude the '12-Day-War,' and the entire world is safer. Americans can sleep well at night knowing that our nation is secure because President Trump is in charge,' Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said. Trump's boast that he had forced a ceasefire was part of a pattern, Hopkins said. As a candidate, Trump promised he could end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but has since discovered he cannot bend Moscow and Jerusalem to his will. In fact, in striking Iran, Trump followed Israel's lead, not vice versa. The strike fits with how Trump has approached his second term, with a willingness to govern in broad strokes and act boldly without widespread public backing. He does not need to worry about facing voters again and works with a largely compliant Republican-controlled Congress. Along that line, the first months of Trump's tenure have seen him fire thousands of government workers, green-light immigration raids and deportations that have provoked protests and eroded blue-collar workforces, erect trade barriers on the flow of goods – and now, bomb a Middle Eastern nation. Political payback may not happen immediately, said Allison Stanger, a political scientist at Middlebury College, but could come in the form of continued civic unrest in America or Democratic gains in next year's midterm elections. 'Trump's political risk isn't immediate escalation,' Stanger said. 'It's the slow burn of resentment he has built across multiple fronts, both foreign and domestic.'
