A debate about Palestine at a university became vicious after an audience member started shaking his fist and yelled "Allahu Akbar".

The shocking remark caused a scene at University College Dublin which saw security intervene as audience members began to leave.

The attendees were said to be discussing whether the West was doing enough to support the Palestinian people.

Videos appear to show others being removed from the Fitzgerald Chamber - the room where the debate was being held.

The motion for the debate was "This House believes that the West has failed Palestine".

Those featured in the discussion included barrister Natasha Hausdorff, a leading pro-Israel voice, and Irish politician Richard Boyd Barrett.

Discussions started to become heated after Boyd Barrett was heard refusing to condemn Hamas.

Audience members were then seen having ferocious verbal exchanges over the issue.

Boyd Barrett later said the debate was “a bit chaotic” which finished in “verbal argy-bargy”, according to The Journal.

He said: "There was a delay for about an hour before the meeting because the speakers who were advocating for Israel weren’t willing to debate with someone on the other side."

The debate was reportedly set to be three versus three debate, however two people advocating against the motion pulled out.

“There was a delay for about an hour before the meeting because the speakers who were advocating for Israel weren’t willing to debate with someone on the other side,” Boyd Barrett said.

There was also a larger than normal security presence at the debate, which Boyd Barrett said “seemed a bit over the top”.

“I didn’t really understand why there was any need for that to be honest,” he added.

However, the People Before Profit TD said he "wouldn’t go overboard on what happened".

He said: "I think student debates can get a bit rowdy and I wouldn’t describe it as much more than verbal argy-bargy at the very end debate, and quite a bit of confusion and delay in terms of the debate starting."