Washington: More than 2,100 people have been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States since April 18, as police have tried to quell the demonstrations with riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer also accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters.
The students were protesting Israel's nearly seven-month-long war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at a time when around 34,500 Palestinians have been killed and a majority of the population displaced due to Israel's devastating military offensive. More than 100 people were arrested at Columbia University, which had become the flashpoint of protests across US universities.
A tally by The Associated Press on Thursday found at least 50 incidents of arrests at 40 different US colleges or universities since April 18. Police officers arrested at least 200 protesters at the University of California on Thursday after hundreds defied orders to leave, some forming human chains as police fired flash bangs to break up the crowds. Police also tore apart a fortified encampment’s barricade of plywood, pallets, metal fences and dumpsters, then pulled down canopies and tents.
What do the protesters want?
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. However, some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus as graduation nears, partly prompting a heavier hand from universities.
Israel also portrayed the protests as anti-semitic while critics say the country uses these allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, protest organisers — some of whom are Jewish — call it a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and protest the war.
The allegations of antisemitism had forced the police to use a hard hand to quell the protests. Dueling groups of protesters also clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles, shoving, kicking and beating each other with sticks after pro-Israel demonstrators tried to pull down barricades surrounding a pro-Palestinian encampment. The clash was later broken up by the police.
Biden breaks silence on protests
US President Joe Biden on Thursday defended the right of students to peaceful protest but decried the disorder of recent days. “Dissent is essential for democracy," he said at the White House. "But dissent must never lead to disorder.” The Democratic president also said the protests have not caused him to reconsider his approach to the war.
The demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 with students calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war. On April 18, the NYPD cleared Columbia’s initial encampment and arrested roughly 100 protesters. This prompted the demonstrators to set up new tents and defy threats of suspension, including the siege of Hamilton Hall, an administration building that had been used by protesters before.
The confrontations at UCLA also played out over several days this week. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block told alumni on a call Thursday afternoon that the trouble started after a permitted pro-Israel rally was held on campus Sunday and fights broke out and “live mice” were tossed into the pro-Palestinian encampment later that day. Campus administrators and police reportedly did not intervene or call for backup for hours.
Meanwhile, protest encampments at other schools across the U.S. have been cleared by police — resulting in more arrests — or closed up voluntarily. But University of Minnesota officials reached an agreement with protesters not to disrupt commencements and similar compromises have been made at Northwestern University in suburban Chicago, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Brown University in Rhode Island.
Officer accidentally fired gun on campus
Authorities revealed on Thursday that a police officer had accidentally discharged his gun while clearing out protesters at Columbia during Tuesday's raid, although no one was injured by the officer’s mistake. He was trying to use the flashlight attached to his gun at the time and instead fired a single round that struck a frame on the wall, according to the NYPD.
There were other officers but no students in the immediate vicinity, officials said. Body camera footage shows when the officer’s gun went off, but the district attorney’s office is conducting a review, a standard practice. Police boarded about 50 detainees onto a bus, each of them with their hands bound behind their backs by zip ties, the entire scene illuminated with flashing red and blue lights of police vehicles, amid chants of "Free, free, free Palestine!" and "Let the students go!"
The student protests in the United States have also taken on political overtones in the run-up to the presidential election in November, with Republicans accusing some university administrators of turning a blind eye to antisemitic rhetoric and harassment. The Los Angeles Police Department said on X it was responding to UCLA's request "due to multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus", to restore order and maintain public safety.
(with inputs from agencies)
