Pro-Palestinian protesters at Queen's pack up as university reviews divestment request

Pro-Palestinian protesters are packing up after 12 nights camped outside an administration building at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

The encampment grew out of an all-day demonstration on May 10, with more than a dozen tents sprawling across the grass outside Richardson Hall.

Posters, blood-red hand prints and chalk messages declaring the protesters' six demands, including divestment from companies with ties to Israel, quickly covered the walls of the courtyard.

On Wednesday, encampment organizers called a media conference and announced they're leaving.

"By this evening, we will be taking down ... our tents," said Yara Hussein, a fifth-year Queen's student.

While the encampment may be gone, the protesters plan to keep pressuring the university to meet their demands, she added.

"We will continue to organize and mobilize on this campus," Hussein said. "We pitched a tent in a night and we can pitch more."

Encampment organizers said Queen's principal Patrick Deane has received their formal request for divestment, along with around 600 signatures in support of it.

Deane has also agreed to strike a committee to review the request within the week, according to the group, which has requested two seats on it.

University to examine divestment

A statement shared on behalf of the university confirmed it has accepted a request to consider divestment after meeting with protesters over the past 10 days .

According to the statement, Deane is creating a "Review Committee for Responsible Investing," adding its recommendations could include coordinating consultations or arranging delegations.

Those recommendations will then be provided to the principal for consideration before he hands them over to the Board of Trustees, which will have final approval.

"There will be opportunities for all those who have an interest in this matter to participate in this process," the statement adds.

The tents at Queen's were part of a wave of protests at universities across North America, some of which were forcibly cleared by police.

Protesters plan more 'escalations'

Jake Morrow, another one of the encampment organizers in Kingston, estimated roughly 150 people took part. He said the decision to leave was unanimous.

"By taking this moment to step back, we are allowing ourselves the time to prepare for our next steps, our next escalations so that the university feels the pressure again and again," Morrow said.

While Queen's hasn't met all of their demands, which include an academic boycott of Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion universities, and more disclosure around the university's investments, it has acknowledged them, the protesters said.

They added the university has also committed to ensuring no participants will face retaliation for joining the encampment.

"We don't see these as victories, but rather opportunities to hold this administration and these senior admin as accountable," Hussein said.