By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) – After holding firm for 62 days, pro-Palestinian protesters decided Wednesday to obey a court order to dismantle their tents and leave University of Toronto (U of T) property.
At a 5 p.m. press conference, protest organizers said they were packing up and departing the university’s downtown King’s College Circle campus because they “refused to give the Toronto Police Service an opportunity to brutalize us,” CTV News reported. “We are leaving to protect our community from violence.”
On Tuesday, a Canadian court judge granted an injunction filed by the university and ruled that the protesters had to vacate the property by 6 p.m. Wednesday. If they were still there past the deadline, the judge authorized Toronto police to move in and make arrests.
The encampment was set up by protesters calling themselves U of T Occupy for Palestine in a bid to force the university to divest itself from Israeli companies that were profiting from the Israel-Hamas war, reveal investments and sever relations with any Israeli academic institutions that are complicit in the war.
University officials offered concessions, but the protest group wanted a timetable for action, and that was not forthcoming, they said.
“Let us be clear — the university will disclose its investments, divest from companies profiting from Palestinian suffering and deaths, and cut ties with academic institutions tied to the Israeli war machine. The question is not if, but when?” said Mohammad Yassin, one of the organizers, CBC News reported.
Protesters will still be able to demonstrate on campus, but they cannot camp or block entrances. Protests on campus will not be permitted between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., CBC News reported.