Last year, pro-Palestine protesters staged demonstrations at Senate House Yard and Greenwich House which “forced” a graduation ceremony to be moved, university lawyers said.

A previous effort to impose a five-year injunction prohibiting direct action relating to the conflict without its consent on several sites was rejected by a judge in February.

The European Legal Support Center (ELSC), which opposes the university’s bid, said an injunction would be a “disproportionate infringement” on the protesters’ human rights.

The university’s latest bid seeks to block protests on graduations planned until 26 July.

Myriam Stacey KC, for the university, told a High Court hearing on Wednesday there was a “real and imminent risk” of further action on campus.

She said the protesters seemed to be mostly affiliated with the group Cambridge for Palestine, whose stated aims online include for the university to “divest from institutions and companies complicit in the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Palestine”.

The sought-after injunction is against “persons unknown”, as it is impossible to know which individuals will take part in demonstrations in the future, Ms Stacey said.

She told the court it was the activity the university sought to stop, “not the viewpoint”, and it took “an entirely neutral approach” aiming to “balance the rights of all students and parties”.

Owen Greenhall, for ELSC, said the university was discriminating against the “race and/or political belief” of protesters as it was only after pro-Palestine actions that it sought the injunction, allowing other demonstrations such as those for Ukraine or industrial action.

He also said the proposed injunction was “not necessary” and that the university “has not identified any serious risk sufficient to justify the extreme rights infringement now sought”.

The hearing, before Mr Justice Soole, is expected to conclude on Thursday with judgment given on Friday.

Palestine Action said students, in collaboration with the group, marked the office which manages Cambridge University’s Endowment Fund, The Old Schools on Trinity Lane.

The action followed an injunction, granted by a High Court judge last week, aimed at preventing pro-Palestinian demonstrators from disrupting a graduation ceremony.

A spokesperson from the university said: “We strongly condemn this vandalism of University property. The police have been informed.”

Palestine Action said activists wanted full disclosure of the university’s investments and the immediate divestment from “companies complicit in war crimes and the Israeli apartheid regime”.

A spokesperson from the group said: “Each life lost in Palestine is a human being with dreams, loved ones, and a future stolen.

“As long as the university continues to profit from violence, we will continue to take action in solidarity with Palestinians who endure daily oppression and destruction.”

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed a crime had been raised for criminal damage to the building.

Mr Justice Fordham imposed an injunction covering a ceremony due to take place on Saturday, following an application by lawyers representing the university.

They had raised longer-term concerns about ceremonies being disrupted, but failed to persuaded the judge to impose a wider injunction.

A union had condemned the university legal action as a “shameful” attack on democratic rights.

Protest camps were set up in Cambridge following the outbreak of conflict in Gaza, between Israel and Hamas, in late 2023.

Pro-Palestinian campaigners had alleged that Cambridge University had not acted on previous agreements to review investments in relation to the arms industry.

The university previously said it was committed to reviewing its “approach to responsible investment”.

Lawyers told Mr Justice Fordham in London how protests had disrupted a number of degree ceremonies.

They asked him to make an order covering four university premises in Cambridge, which would last until 2030.

Barrister Yasser Vanderman, who led the university’s legal team, said some “defendants” formed part of a “well organised” group with “strong and committed” views on the conflict.

The university wanted “injunctive relief” to “restrain threatened acts of trespass and nuisance”, he said.

Mr Vanderman asked for an injunction to last five years – with annual reviews – arguing that given the “long-standing nature” of the Gaza conflict, such a time-frame was reasonable.

But the judge said he was not prepared to make any “final” order – or any order lasting five years.

He granted an injunction focused on a ceremony due to take place at Senate House, on Trinity Street, on Saturday.

The judge said only a limited order, which would last until 23:00 GMT on Saturday, was justified. He said he aimed to reconsider the case in the near future.

No protesters were at Thursday’s hearing in London and none were represented by lawyers. The university took the legal action against “persons unknown”.

A lawyer said, after the hearing, that the injunction would run through Friday and Saturday and, in essence, bar anyone from entering Senate House, or nearby Senate House Yard, without university permission.

Lawyers said anyone thought to have breached the order could face legal action and be found in contempt of court.

A number of organisations had condemned the university’s injunction application.

The University and College Union (UCU), campaign group Liberty and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign raised concerns.

Jo Grady, UCU general secretary, said it was a “shameful attack on basic democratic rights”.

However, Cambridge University had said any claim that it was trying “restrict protest” was “ridiculous”, adding it was trying to protect students and staff.