Pro-Palestinian protesters announce closure of Hackney encampment

Pro-Palestinian protesters who have been camping outside Hackney Town Hall for months have announced they are closing down the encampment.

Hackney4pal announced on its Instagram account that the camp would be closed on July 9, at which time a delegation would be sent to Hackney Council to present its final demands.

For months, protesters have been camping outside the council, demanding the “divestment of Israeli weapons” and the end of a long-standing partnership with Haifa.

The first demand concerns Hackney Council’s pension fund, which has investments worth £1.9m which protesters say are held in “companies doing business in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.

Activists say the fund currently holds £25,700 worth of shares in Elbit Systems Ltd, which they believe supplies equipment to the Israel Defense Forces.

Caroline Woodley, Mayor of Hackney, said the council’s investments were made in standard pooled funds and the Pension Fund did not directly own shares in any company.

She said: “These indirect investments in companies operating in Israeli settlements represent around 0.1 per cent of the value of the pension fund. While it is unlikely that the Pension Commission can make changes without risking breaching Law Commission guidelines, responsible investment remains at the forefront of the Commission’s agenda.”

Protesters also demanded that the council end the twinning relationship between Hackney and the Israeli city of Haifa.

Protesters said that despite their efforts, they expect the council to “reject the divestment plan”.

The group, which asked supporters to bring them “snacks, dried fruit and peanut butter”, said it would have to change tactics if its demands were not met.

In a statement posted on Instagram, they said: “It is sad to close the camp while Israel’s genocide continues. Every day the situation in occupied Palestine worsens for the Palestinian people. But we remain committed to the liberation of Palestine!”

They added: “We will intensify our actions to put more pressure on the Council until our demands are met.”

In May, one protester who had been there every day since the camp was established said: Citizen Hackney: “If it takes six months, that’s how long we’ll stay.”

Levi Shapiro of the Jewish Community Council (JCC) of North London, based in Stamford Hill, welcomed the news of the camp’s liquidation.

He said: “We welcome this decision and the support from Hackney Council. It is understandable that residents in the community felt uncomfortable attending council meetings while being greeted on the steps of the town hall by this camp.”

Hackney Council has been twinned with Haifa since 1968.

In May, a council spokesman said: “The council is twinned with Suresnes, Haifa and St George’s.

“The council does not play an active role in managing these connections; they are self-sustaining because they are based on community links that have developed over many years.”

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