A COALITION of Palestine and climate activists demanding the British Museum end its links with the Gaza genocide through its BP sponsorship forced the London museum to close on Saturday.

Activist theatre group BP Or Not BP assembled a mosaic in the museum’s main hall — reference to the current Legion exhibition about the Romans — with lettering saying Drop BP: End Oil Sponsorship.

Energy Embargo for Palestine and Parents for Palestine meanwhile delivered a programme of events for children in the museum’s courtyard that included dabke, a traditional dance of Palestine, and a display of banners with slogans such as “Palestinian Children Deserve Life, Drop BP!”

The museum announced a new 10-year £50 million sponsorship deal with the fossil fuel giant in December, shortly after BP had secured gas exploration licences off the coast of Gaza from Israel.

Non-governmental organisations warned that such procedures could encroach on Palestinian maritime boundaries and amount to the war crime of pillaging.

An Energy Embargo for Palestine campaigner said the institution’s trustees have tried to obscure its ties with Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people.

And a Parents for Palestine activist said that the museum “represents the colonial theft of cultures: generations of children have lost their history because of it.

“And now we are seeing the decimation of cultural life in Gaza — museums, archives, architecture, arts, artists — while companies like BP profit.”

A museum spokeswoman said: “The British Museum respects other people’s right to express their views and allows peaceful protest onsite at the museum as long as there is no risk to the collection, staff or visitors.”