'Divest now': Students launch encampment at McGill University

Several students have launched an encampment at McGill University as they call on the institution to cut financial ties with Israel.

Several posts on social media show protesters joining hands in a circle around several tents that were set up on Saturday.

Protesters shouted "Divest now" and "Free Palestine." Posters circulating online state students from McGill and Concordia University are participating in the event to send the message to university administration that students "refuse to let their universities be complicit in genocide."

Montreal police said some officers are on site to monitor the event, but say campus security is in charge. 

The encampment resembles those in several U.S. cities in recent days with anti-war protests ramping up on university campuses calling for an end to the massacre of civilians in Gaza.

On Saturday morning, McGill sent a communique to students informing them that "encampments are not permitted on our campus."

It also noted that "encampments can create serious health and safety concerns while increasing the potential for escalation and confrontation, as we have seen at some colleges throughout the U.S."

When asked by CTV News whether or not the tents would have to be removed, a spokesperson did not answer.

A university spokesperson wrote in an email Saturday afternoon that its security officers are on site and that "We support the rights of our campus community to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly within the bounds of McGill’s policies and the law. We also have a duty to create a respectful environment that creates the optimal conditions for carrying out our academic mission and that protects the health and safety of our community."