Classes at the University of California are suspended after clashes between protest groups

2024-05-01 21:20:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Classes at the University of California are suspended after clashes between

Illustrative photo

The University of California canceled classes on Wednesday and urged people to avoid the area where two pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protest groups had clashed the night before. The school's library will not reopen until Monday and Royce Hall, which authorities said was vandalized, will be closed until Friday. The university has stationed law enforcement officers throughout the university premises.

The number of people arrested after police interventions to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters at American universities has exceeded 1,000.

In rare cases, university officials and protest leaders have reached agreements to avoid harsh restrictions on activities within university premises and disrupt graduation ceremonies expected to take place within days.

At the University of California, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups clashed last night for several hours, but authorities have not reported any injuries.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the violence "absolutely disgusting and inexcusable" in a social media post and said city police were on the scene. The university said it had sought help.

On Tuesday evening, New York City police entered Columbia University after the university called for help. They cleared a tented camp and drove away the crowd that had taken control of the 'Hamilton' hall. "After the University learned that Hamilton Hall had been invaded, vandalized and blocked, we were left with no other choice," the school said in a statement.

Several dozen protesters in Columbia were arrested after ignoring an earlier ultimatum to remove the tented camp on Monday or face suspension.

A few streets away from Columbia University, at the City College of New York, demonstrators clashed with police in front of the public university's main entrance. Footage posted on social media by reporters Tuesday evening showed officers forcing some people to the ground and pushing others as they cleared the street and sidewalks.

After the police arrived, officers removed a Palestinian flag that had been placed on the City College flag pole and threw it to the ground. Then they put the American flag there.

Brown University, another elite school, reached an agreement on Tuesday with protesters on its campus in Rhodes. Demonstrators said they would remove the tent camp if university administrators would at least discuss in October the possibility of divesting from investments in Israeli companies. This is likely the first time an American university has agreed to put the protesters' demands to a vote.

Meanwhile, at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, police cleared a tent camp Tuesday night and arrested about 20 people. University officials had warned students they would face criminal charges if they did not disperse.

Police also cleared a tent camp Wednesday morning at Tulane University in New Orleans and tore down all but one tent at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where police clashed with protesters and more than 10 were arrested. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a blunt instrument, according to University of Wisconsin police spokesman Marc Lovicott.

Protests at American universities began at Columbia University in response to Israel's offensive in Gaza and after Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in southern Israel on October 7. The militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took approximately 250 hostages. Vowing to wipe out Hamas, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health there.

Some Jewish students, Israel and its supporters have characterized the university protests as anti-Semitic, while Israel's critics say the accusations are made to silence criticism. Although some protesters have been filmed making anti-Semitic comments or threatening violence, protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement aimed at protecting Palestinian rights and protesting the war.

The New York Police have announced that they will be present at Columbia University until May 17, when graduation activities are scheduled to end.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and former NYPD captain, insisted that while students were among those who entered Hamilton Hall, "it was run by individuals not affiliated with the university."

Mr Adams did not provide any evidence to support this claim, saying that revealing these details would be "very sensitive" to the ongoing investigation.

Rebecca U. Weiner, the NYPD deputy commissioner who heads the intelligence and counterterrorism division, said some of the protesters were "familiar" to the department as they had participated in past protests.

The police department's deputy commissioner for public information, Tarik Sheppard, said 40 to 50 people were arrested at Hamilton Hall and that no one was injured. Mr. Adams said about 300 people were arrested at Columbia University and City College.

Among the 300 people arrested are also external individuals who were caught trying to escalate the protests that were held at Columbia University.

According to Mr. Adams, the administration of this university requested the intervention of the police after they realized that external individuals who are training and actually leading the protest have entered the university premises.

The police intervention was made to enable this university to remove these individuals who turned the protest into an anti-Semitic and anti-Israel movement.

Protesters first set up a tent camp in Columbia almost two weeks ago. The school sent police to remove the tents the next day, arresting more than 100 people, but students returned to campus.

Negotiations between the protesters and the university stalled in recent days, and the school gave protesters a deadline to leave the tent camp by Monday afternoon or face suspension.

But the protesters went further by occupying the Hamilton building on Tuesday morning and blocked the entrance inside it./ Voa