Inside the Gaza war protest camp at Oxford University

It's a moment that, in the current mood, could have quickly turned ugly. Outside Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre, as 200 student protesters group together for a rally and fill the area with chants such as "Palestine will live forever", an Israeli flag unfurls in the crowd.

- ALEX ROSS & JABED AHMED

The blue Star of David waves in the breeze as observers quickly look to its bearer, Israeli politician Sharren Haskel, who smiles confidently for photographs and video taken by her aides.

The bold move by the member of the opposition party New Hope shocks those within eyeshot, including nearby police officers, but clearly none knows who the smartly dressed politician is. And just as well, for her comments to us – calling the protesters “idiots” as she says she is standing up for intimidated Jewish students – threaten to quickly turn the mood of the until now peaceful event.

But with the crowd beginning to gather around, she’s quickly whisked away. Just a five-minute walk from the rally, students at Oxford University are in the third day of their so-called “liberation zone” encampment on the lawn outside the city’s Natural History Museum. Around 40 tents covered with flags and handwritten signs are dotted among the casts of fossilised prints of a megalosaurus dinosaur.

Cardboard, wood and even carpet have been laid out to provide a frowzy walkway separating the tents from zones that include a library and study, a canteen serving donated food and a media area. There’s even a tent for sun cream. There are activities with a busy hour-by-hour programme featuring a morning forum entitled Democracy and an afternoon talk called The Great Uprising of the Arab Revolt.