A judge in the Canadian province of Ontario on Tuesday ordered the pro-Palestinian Arab encampment at the University of Toronto (U of T) to vacate the area by Wednesday at 6:00 p.m., granting the university the injunction they sought, reported The Canadian Press.

“The court orders that the respondents and any and all persons of this order having knowledge of this Order, no later than 6:00 p.m. on July 3 shall remove all structures, tents, encampments and items of personal property placed or created or imposed by them at Front Campus and King’s College Circle,” reads the decision.

The decision also allows Toronto police or the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to have authorization to arrest or remove any person who they believe to be contravening the order.

U of T turned to the courts in late May in an effort to clear the encampment. B'nai Brith Canada later announced it had filed to intervene in the legal efforts to disband the encampment that has been stationed at the campus since May 2.

In a statement on Tuesday, U of T said they trust that those in the encampment will abide by the court order and vacate by the deadline. “Anyone who chooses to remain in the encampment after that deadline will be subject to consequences under university policy and the law,” read the statement.

Participants in the encampment had said they wouldn’t leave until the school agrees to disclose investments in companies profiting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions.

While the university included examples of antisemitic incidents in its filings, the students argue the evidence regarding these incidents is hearsay and cannot be put to the test, nor has the school proven any connection to the encampment or its participants.

They also argue that clearing the encampment would violate their protected rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.

In ruling in favour of the University, the court found that the removal of the encampment did not shut down the protester’s right to freedom of expression as they are still allowed to protest anywhere on campus between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and the injunction would only prohibit camping, setting up structures or blocking entry to any University property.

B’nai Brith Canada welcomed the injunction against the anti-Israel encampment on the University of Toronto’s campus.

“Today’s decision sets a powerful precedent,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “There is no justification for the behavior of the encampment’s participants, whose actions went well beyond what is permissible as free expression and lawful protest and included antisemitic chants and slogans, as well as calls for violence.”

“This decision is the one so many Canadians have been hoping for,” Robertson said. “We call on universities across the country to use all the means at their disposal to end the encampments plaguing their campuses and to ensure the well-being of all their staff and students.”

The encampment at U of T is similar to anti-Israel encampments that have been set up at campuses across the US in recent weeks.