Brown University, student protesters reach deal on ending pro-Palestine encampment

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Brown University reached an agreement with students protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza to end an encampment they have been maintaining on school grounds since April 24 in solidarity with Palestinians by Tuesday evening.

"Students agreed to end the encampment and refrain from further actions that would violate Brown’s conduct code through the end of the academic year," Brown University said in a statement.

The university, located in Providence, Rhode Island, said although the establishment of tents and other activities have violated a range of policies, the university leaders agreed that ending the encampment will be viewed favorably in disciplinary proceedings.

The university agreed that five students will be invited to meet with five members of the Corporation of Brown University in May to hear their arguments on why the institution should divest from Israel.

"In addition, (Brown University President Christina) Paxson will ask the Advisory Committee on University Resources Management to provide a recommendation on the matter of divestment by Sept. 30, and this will be brought to the Corporation for a vote at its October 2024 meeting," the school said.

Gaza Solidarity Encampment spokesperson Arman Deendar reportedly described it as a win.

"As you just saw, we were celebrating a win for the divestment movement on campus. We negotiated for a vote on divestment from Israeli occupation to be brought to the October meeting of the corporation, which is the first time in 19 years that a university will be voting on the issue of divestment, so it's a really big win on campus," Deendar was quoted as saying by local news outlet WJAR, which is affiliated by NBC.

Protests are sweeping college campuses in the US following a police attempt to clear a pro-Palestine encampment at Columbia University New York, resulting in the arrest of more than 100 students.

Hundreds of students have since been arrested on campuses, with protests demanding universities divest from Israel and condemn its onslaught on the besieged Gaza Strip, where more than 34,400 people have been killed. The vast majority of the dead have been women and children.

Palestinian journalists, academics and activists have been frequently killed.

Israel has also targeted Gaza's places of higher education, with all 12 major universities being destroyed. The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, or UNRWA, has separately reported mass destruction at the sprawling network of schools it operates in the coastal enclave.