Anti-Israel protesters clear out Canadian campus encampment after 2 months

Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters have cleared out tents and tarps from a fenced-off grassy area on the campus of Canada’s largest university, where for two months they had held an encampment, ahead of an evening deadline.

In a ruling on Tuesday, an Ontario judge ordered the protesters to leave by 6 p.m. on Wednesday, granting an injunction requested by the University of Toronto. The judge said in this case, free expression is no defense to trespass.

“We are leaving on our terms to protect our community,” says Mohammad Yassin, a recent University of Toronto graduate, a Palestinian and a spokesman for the protesters, to a crowd of supporters and reporters outside the former encampment site.

He claims the occupation through the school’s convocation period was “a massive victory.”

The protesters were calling on the University of Toronto to disclose its investments, divest from investments associated with Israel and cut ties with some Israeli-affiliated institutions.

“Negotiations have been frozen for a little while now,” Yassin says.

University of Toronto President Meric Gertler says in a statement that he is pleased the encampment ended peacefully.

“Members of our community continue to be free to exercise their right to free speech and lawful protest,” he says.