Police took down an encampment at University of California (UCLA) in Los Angeles on Thursday, on top of arresting pro-Palestinian protesters at several colleges, underscoring the heightened chaos that has erupted at universities in the US this week.
Helmeted police swarmed a tent city set up at the UCLA, firing stun grenades, to push through lines of protesters who linked arms in an effort to halt their advance.
Los Angeles police said on social media that 210 people were arrested at UCLA, and hundreds of arrests were made at other universities overnight and on Thursday.
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Students have rallied or set up tents at dozens of universities in recent days to protest Israel’s war on Gaza.
Demonstrators have called on President Joe Biden to do more to stop the bloodshed in Gaza and demanded schools divest from companies that support Israel’s government.
UCLA officials said the campus, with nearly 52,000 students, would remain shuttered except for limited operations on Thursday and Friday.
Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, police entered the Portland State University library on Thursday morning, where demonstrators had barricaded themselves since Monday. Police made more arrests at the library on Thursday night as demonstrators attempted to retake it.
In New Hampshire, police arrested approximately 100 protesters in separate incidents at Dartmouth University and the University of New Hampshire overnight, breaking up encampments.
Meanwhile, dozens of pro-Palestinian students from Mexico’s largest university camped out Thursday in solidarity with similar protests that have swept colleges in the US.
Mounting flags and chanting “Long live free Palestine,” the protesters set up tents in front of the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s (UNAM) head office in Mexico City.
The students called on the Mexican government to break diplomatic and commercial ties with Israel.
The protests follow the deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip, which killed 1,200 people and saw dozens taken hostage, and an ensuing Israeli offensive that has killed about 34,000 and created a humanitarian crisis.
The campus demonstrations have been met with counter-protesters accusing them of fomenting anti-Jewish hatred. The pro-Palestinian side, including some Jews opposed to Israeli actions in Gaza, say they are being unfairly branded as antisemitic for criticizing Israel’s government and expressing support for human rights.
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