The two sides at the Australian National University both say they want to talk to each other - but somehow haven't found a way to meet.
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There is now an email exchange which seems to signal at least a change in tone in the stand-off at the heart of the ANU campus.
"We remain open to good faith dialogue with the university administration," a spokesperson for the pro-Palestine camp said.
One sticking point is that the protesting students want the university leadership to come to them.
"Our preference is for them to come to the camp, to speak to the camp as a whole," protester Nick Reich said.
The camp, he said, had a "non-hierarchical structure" where decisions were taken collectively at meetings each evening at 5.30pm.
From the other side, a spokesperson for the university said: "ANU has been committed to an open discussion with encampment participants since the beginning of their protest."
There have been exchanges on email but somehow no actual meeting has happened even though the Chancelry Building which houses the administration, and the encampment are five minutes walk from each other.
The protesters know where the Chancelry Building is because they marched there and held a very loud demonstration a week ago.
The ANU leadership knows where the camp is because it's at the centre of the campus and, presumably, meant to be seen.
The ANU spokesperson said: "Encampment participants have been invited to multiple meetings with the university and the Vice-Chancellor to discuss their demands.
"ANU is in ongoing contact with encampment participants and welcomes ongoing dialogue on these important matters.
"The University is committed to continuing its conversation with encampment participants."
But there does now seem to be some momentum for a resolution. Both sides are talking about talking - and that wasn't obvious a week ago.
One factor may be that exams start next week, and protesters may have had study on their minds more than the encampment.
But at the camp on Thursday afternoon, protesters were studying. And Nick Reich said exams would not weaken commitment. "We are still holding strong," he said. He has economics exams next week.
The second spur to the change of mood may be the agreement by Melbourne student protesters to end their occupation of a university building. The protesters said they would leave after getting a concession from the university authorities.
A spokesperson from the "Unimelb for Palestine" group said the university had committed to disclose its partnerships with weapons manufacturers, according to the AAP news agency.
"We demand disclosure within one month and that an independent body of our choice oversees this process," the spokesperson said.
The protesters in Canberra are demanding that the university ends links with Israel, particularly its exchange program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The university also has the Northrop Grumman Scholarship, named after the arms manufacturer. Pro-Palestine students assert that the company develops "manned missile systems used by the Israel Air Force in its airstrikes in Palestine".
Above all, they want the university to sell any shares it may have in arms companies. "Divestment" was the demand on which they could not compromise.
And they want the university to disclose its investments in arms companies. "The ANU is not transparent about its partnerships or investments with weapons companies," protester Evan Meneses said.
The university authorities are exasperated by what some see as a shambles of leadership at the camp.
Some in the university are bemused by claims from protesters that they are not involved in the camp even though they have been filmed by the media speaking at meetings there.
Steve Evans
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
Steve Evans is a reporter on The Canberra Times. He's been a BBC correspondent in New York, London, Berlin and Seoul and the sole reporter/photographer/paper deliverer on The Glen Innes Examiner in country New South Wales. "All the jobs have been fascinating - and so it continues."
