University Of Minnesota Reaches Initial Agreement With Pro-Palestine Demonstrators

At least two other universities in the U.S. have reached deals with students who have set up encampments to protest Israel's attacks on Gaza.

The University of Minnesota reached an initial agreement with pro-Palestine protesters late Wednesday to end their encampment on campus.

Hundreds of students at colleges nationwide, from Columbia University in New York to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), to Northwestern University in Illinois and Brown University in Rhode Island, held demonstrations in recent weeks to demand that their universities divest from companies that are in business with Israel, and publicly called for a cease-fire.

Students at the University of Minnesota joined the national mobilization and set up an encampment that lasted 10 days to protest Israel’s ongoing attacks in Gaza, which has killed over 34,000 people, displaced most of the population and caused famine. Israel’s offensive began after a surprise attack on Oct. 7 from the militant group Hamas, which killed 1,200 people and took hundreds hostage.

Eight students and one faculty member were arrested at the encampment Tuesday, but the university agreed to not pursue disciplinary action and urged campus police not to charge anyone involved in the demonstrations over the past week with criminal offense, CBS News reported.

On Thursday morning, interim President Jeff Ettinger sent an email to students and faculty outlining the agreement that was reached the night before at a meeting with members of the UMN Divest Coalition to discuss their demands.