Harvard University and student protesters announced early Tuesday that they had negotiated an end to a pro-Palestinian encampment in Harvard Yard, The New York Times reported.
"The apparently peaceful outcome is one that has eluded many other campuses where officials have resorted to calling the police to clear demonstrators," the newspaper added.
The coalition orchestrating the encampment, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, known as HOOP, announced that it had "democratically voted to end its encampment after 20 days."
The campus is emptying out for the end of the school year, buildings are closing, and the protests were becoming more difficult to sustain, The New York Times reported.
More than 20 students have been suspended and more than 60 were referred for additional disciplinary charges, local news outlet WBUR.org reported, citing HOOP.
The end of the encampment at Harvard comes just days before its commencement on May 23, for which preparations have already begun, WBUR reported. Officials had locked the gates to Harvard Yard and required students and affiliates to show ID in order to access the area.
Harvard officials agreed to offer "meetings regarding disclosure and divestment with members of the Harvard Management Company," which runs the school's endowment, and to begin conversations around creating a Center for Palestinian Studies.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian protests continue at universities and colleges across the country, and some commencement ceremonies have been disrupted or canceled.
Since the Oct. 7 attack by terrorist group Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,000 people, and Israel's retaliatory assault, students in America are demanding a cease-fire and that their schools financially divest from Israel, BBC News reported.
The BBC has counted more than 130 colleges and universities in the U.S. where protests or encampments have arisen.
Pro-Palestinian protests have also occurred on university campuses in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, and the U.K.
Peter Malbin ✉
Peter Malbin, a Newsmax writer, covers news and politics. He has 30 years of news experience, including for the New York Times, New York Post and Newsweek.com.
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