Pro-Palestinian encampment set up at Halifax's Dalhousie University

An encampment is now set up outside a Maritime university in solidarity with Palestinian people in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

More than a dozen tents could been seen outside Dalhousie University in Halifax on Monday morning.

Tents are seen outside Dalhousie University in Halifax on May 13, 2024. (Carl Pomeroy/CTV Atlantic)

The encampment began on Sunday on the school’s Studley Quad.

The encampment appears to be organized the group Students for the Liberation of Palestine - Kjipuktuk (Halifax).

The group says they are an “autonomous coalition of students from across Dalhousie University, Saint Mary’s University, the University of King’s College, and NSCAD University.”

“We're not sure of exact numbers. We don’t know how many people are here from each school. We don't know how many representatives are here from each school, but there is a strong group of people from each school that are very invested into this,” one student told CTV News.

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A series of posts on the Students for the Liberation of Palestine Instagram page says it is calling on universities to disclose, and divest from, any investments they say are complicit in Israel’s occupation of Palestine.

The group is also asking for supplies to “sustain the encampment.”

Similar encampments have been set up at other campuses across North America in recent weeks, in some cases resulting in arrests.

A sign at a Pro-Palestinian encampment is pictured at Dalhousie University in Halifax. (Carl Pomeroy/CTV Atlantic)

A group of Nova Scotia Jewish professors, part of the Jewish Faculty Network, say they support the Dalhousie encampment and oppose any potential police intervention to remove it.

The group said in a Sunday evening press release they also urge Halifax universities to treat the encampment as an educational event.

Dalhousie president Kim Brooks and vice-provost of student affairs Rick Ezekiel issued a statement to the university community late Monday noting the establishment of "a peaceful demonstration and encampment" on campus.

"We know that many members of our community share similar frustrations and concerns to those being expressed at university encampments across the country, and around the world," the statement said, adding that university administrators are in contact with organizers and remain committed to "respectful, non-violent dialogue and debate."

With files from The Canadian Press.

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