Pro-Palestinian camp divided: Curtin Guild condemns fellow student protesters for occupying building

Two organising groups behind a pro-Palestinian encampment at Curtin University have come into conflict after some students escalated their ongoing protest by occupying a building on campus.

On Wednesday, Students for Palestine WA led around 150 people in a temporary occupation of Curtin's Engineering Pavilion. They renamed the building Najwa's Pavilion after a young girl from Gaza who had previously sent a message of thanks to the Curtin encampment.

While the occupation was underway, the Guild posted a statement saying the protest "was undertaken without the prior knowledge or approval of the Curtin Student Guild or Curtin Palestinian Society, and the Guild does not support or endorse the actions of the group."

"Whilst the Curtin Student Guild respects all Curtin students' right to free speech and to protest peacefully and respectfully, we believe all Curtin students have the right to study and access teaching facilities and our priority is the safety and wellbeing of all students," the statement said.

The Guild has been working alongside Students for Palestine to coordinate the Curtin Gaza Solidarity Encampment on a campus lawn over the past three weeks, demanding that the University disclose and divest from its ties to Israel.

Students for Palestine said in a statement of its own: "We are very disappointed that the Curtin Student Guild put out a statement criticising our occupation over students' rights to study. All over the world, students are causing disruption on their campuses in response to the mass murder that is playing out on our phone screens. Having to move to a new study location is nothing compared to what the people of Gaza are facing. There are no universities left in Gaza. We know we are on the right side of history."

The occupation began at around 1.30 pm on Wednesday and lasted for about five hours.

A small group of students who were not part of the protest reportedly tore down a banner that protesters had hung from a balcony. A snippet of video footage seen by The Last Place on Earth shows subsequent pushing between these students and a protester. Police attended in response to the incident.

"When a handful of Zionist students attacked us by tearing down our banners, it was a blatant act of provocation," said Students for Palestine in their statement. "But, as a Palestinian engineering student on our side pointed out, this occupation was not aimed at other students - our ire is directed at the university."

Earlier in the occupation, The Last Place on Earth saw a student tearing down posters put up by protesters. The protesters did not respond but continued with their speeches. The later confrontation broke out after our reporter had left the scene.

At the start of the occupation, Students for Palestine organiser Alevine Magila told protesters there was no intention to prevent people from entering or exiting the building.

"No one should block any of the entrances," he said. "No one should block any of the exits. We're all free to come and go as we wish."

Students across the world have occupied campus buildings to demand their universities divest from Israel. Student protesters at Columbia University in New York were arrested in April for occupying Hamilton Hall, which they renamed Hind's Hall in memory of a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli tanks. At the University of Melbourne last week, administration cancelled in-person classes after students occupied the Arts Building. Yesterday, University of Melbourne students announced they would be closing their encampment after the university agreed to disclose research ties to weapons manufacturers.

At Curtin, the conflict between the Guild and Students for Palestine comes after Curtin's Vice-Chancellor Harlene Hayne began negotiations with the Guild Executive last week but refused to meet with representatives of Students for Palestine.

On Wednesday, the Guild said it had "been in ongoing negotiations with the University to reach a resolution regarding the encampment demands for disclosure and divestment from ties to the war in Palestine."

Students for Palestine, meanwhile, has called for the Vice-Chancellor to meet students publicly.

"She is only willing to meet behind closed doors, and has so far refused to meet any of our demands to cut ties or even call it a genocide," Students for Palestine said.

A Curtin spokesperson told The West Australian the university was “extremely disappointed" by Wednesday's escalation.

“Today’s move inside our buildings was an unacceptable breach," they said. "Curtin supports freedom of speech and discourse, but only when it is civil and respectful of others.”