Canadian university sues its own students over encampment for Palestine

The University of Waterloo in Canada has filed a lawsuit against its students for continuing its pro-Palestine encampment urging the university to disclose and divest from Israel.

According to reports in the Canadian press, administrators were suing the encampment for $1.5m in damages including "trespass[ing], damage to property, intimidation and ejectment".

The university alleges the student encampment has damaged the school's reputation, driven up administrative and operational costs for the university and depreciated the university's property values.

Protesters are being urged to disband the camp and vacate immediately, as well as return school property to its original state before the encampment.

The legal injunction was filed on Tuesday and comes several days after administrators issued a trespassing notice to the encampment. 

It also comes two weeks after the university agreed to be more transparent about companies it invests in as part of the disclose and divest demands made by the student movement.

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