Palestinians chase British envoy out of West Bank village

Palestinian students charged the car of the British consul general in Jerusalem, Sir Vincent Fean, on Tuesday, after having bodily prevented him from delivering a speech at Birzeit University, near Ramallah.

Dozens of students surrounded the university’s administrative building while Fean was meeting university president Khalil Hindy, the Ma’an news agency reported. Campus security protected Fean from the crowd as he left the building, shoving him into his waiting car. The protesting students then began to strike the vehicle and broke one of its mirrors, the report said.

Students were said to have been protesting “Britain’s position on the Palestinian question,” as well as its historic stance on Israel, showcased in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, the first British endorsement of Jewish national aspirations.

“Get out of Birzeit,” the students shouted at Fean as he was escorted to his car by security. At a demonstration outside the building, students chanted “Blast the head of the colonizer,” footage released by the Quds News Agency showed.

“Sir Vincent had hoped to underline Britain’s deep commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state, and the urgency of progress on the peace process in 2013,” a representative of the British consulate told Ma’an.

“Sadly, such a dialogue was not possible on this occasion. Sir Vincent remains absolutely committed to building his relationship with the Palestinian student community, and hopes to have the opportunity to pursue this dialogue in future.”

In 2000, students at Birzeit attacked France’s foreign minister Lionel Jospin, injuring him in the head, during protests over a speech he delivered at Tel Aviv University in which he dubbed the Lebanese movement Hezbollah a terrorist organization.