The University of Minnesota says it has reached an agreement to end the pro-Palestinian camp

Jeff Ettinger, interim president of the University of Minnesota, told students and faculty Thursday that an agreement has been reached to disband a pro-Palestinian encampment that took up residence on the Twin Cities campus for three days.

The announcement came after Ettinger and others held a series of meetings with the leaders of student groups that have called on the United States to divest from companies linked to Israel, grant amnesty to people arrested during protests and meet other demands.

“While there is still more work to be done and discussions are still planned with other student groups affected by the painful situation in Palestine, I am encouraged by today’s progress,” Ettinger wrote in the email. “It was born out of a desire among those involved to reach shared understanding.”

The protest at the University of Minnesota was one of several that have taken place at colleges across the country over the past two weeks. By 6 p.m. Wednesday, 30 tents had been set up on the lawn of the U’s Northrop Mall.

The coalition organizing the protests posted on social media Thursday that it planned to be “completely packed by noon today” and asked for help sorting the donations.

“UMN Divest remains steadfast in our commitment to demand COMPLETE divestment from the apartheid regime in Israel and all entities complicit in human rights abuses,” the group wrote. “We will continue to fight for all six of our demands until they are met and will continue with full transparency about every step taken.”

The agreement came as U leaders face mounting pressure from faculty and union leaders to reopen shuttered buildings and assure families that graduation ceremonies would continue without interruption.

Ettinger told students and faculty that the dozens of buildings that were closed will reopen at noon Thursday and “the student coalition has agreed that they will not stage any disruptions to the upcoming finals and commencements, allowing these activities to continue as planned.”

The final exams start on Thursday. The U is hosting several graduation ceremonies, which will take place this week and next week.

Ettinger’s email included a copy of an agreement outlining where the U stands on the student groups’ requests and promising to hold additional meetings with their leaders.

It says the United States will make “a good faith effort” to provide information about its interests in publicly traded companies and to give students the opportunity to speak about their calls for divestment at next week’s Board of Regents meeting .

The agreement stated that the U will not ban employers from campus, but that protest leaders will meet with Career Services to “discuss appropriate mechanisms that you could use to advocate for other students around their choices of potential employers.”

It also said it will allow students to work with people running international programs “to identify the process of exploring a program affiliation with one (or more) Palestinian universities.”

The agreement included information on how students can report complaints and said the university “will be committed to advocating with the Minneapolis City Attorney for lenient remedies for those previously arrested in connection with last week’s encampment.”

University police arrested nine people last week after U.S. leaders said they violated a U.S. policy banning encampments.