Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Wednesday, 18 December 2024
Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters remained behind barricades on the UCLA campus despite police orders to leave as officers were poised to move in on their fortified encampment that was ringed by an even larger crowd, including supporters who locked arms and curious onlookers.
New York City police officers take people into custody near the Columbia University campus in New York after a building taken over by protesters earlier in the day was cleared, along with a tent encampment. The nationwide campus demonstrations began at Columbia on April 17 to protest Israel's offensive in Gaza, which followed Hamas launching a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7.
On April 30, New York City police officers entered Columbia's campus and cleared a tent encampment, along with Hamilton Hall where a stream of officers used a ladder to climb through a second-floor window, and police said protesters inside presented no substantial resistance. They had seized the Ivy League school building about 20 hours earlier.
People listen to a speaker at a pro-Palestinian encampment, advocating for financial disclosure and divestment from all companies tied to Israel and calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, inside the campus of Columbia University. Close to 300 protesters were arrested in the crackdowns at Columbia and City College on May 1, officials said.
A makeshift camp with a Pro-Palestinian theme is staged on the UCLA campus. According to NYT, the school abides by a University of California policy that avoids involving law enforcement unless 'absolutely necessary to protect the physical safety of our campus community.' But the coming days will test UCLA as it navigates its ideals, the presence of city police newly embedded on its campus, and heightened tension.
Israel and its supporters have branded the university protests antisemitic, while Israel's critics say it uses those allegations to silence opposition. Although some protesters have been caught on camera making antisemitic remarks or violent threats, organisers of the protests, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at defending Palestinian rights and protesting the war.
