2,000 arrested as protests rock US colleges, Biden says ‘order must prevail’
At least 2,000 people have so far been arrested in connection with the protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war.
According to the Associated Press, the arrests have been made across 35 campuses, since a tent encampment began at Columbia University on April 17. Meanwhile, a police officer involved with clearing protesters from a Columbia University building fired his gun inside the hall. However, no one was injured.
The demonstrators had seized Hamilton Hall on April 30, ramping up their presence on the campus from a tent encampment that had been there. Tensions on college campuses have been building for days as administrators turned to police to clear demonstrators by force, leading to clashes that have seized widespread attention.
PROTESTS AT US UNIVERSITIES: THE LATEST
The number of people arrested in connection with protests on college campuses against the Israel-Hamas war has now topped 2,000. These arrests were made across 35 schools. Meanwhile, the University of Minnesota officials announced an agreement with pro-Palestinian protesters on Thursday to end their encampment on the Minneapolis campus. In exchange, representatives of the coalition of student organisations involved will get to address the university’s Board of Regent.
President Joe Biden on Thursday rejected calls from student protesters to change his approach to the war in Gaza while insisting that “order must prevail” as college campuses across the country face a wave of violence, outrage and fear. At the White House, Biden said, “Dissent is essential for democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder.” Biden also said that he did not want the National Guard to be deployed to campuses.
A police officer who was involved in clearing protesters from a Columbia University administration building earlier this week fired his gun inside the hall. No one was injured as there were no students in the immediate vicinity. The gunfire came as police officers stormed Hamilton Hall late Tuesday. Pro-Palestinian protesters had been barricaded inside for more than 20 hours.
Columbia University has come under fire for hiring a Modern Arab Studies professor who voiced support for Hamas and other terror groups. Hired as the Arcapita visiting professor in Modern Arab Studies on January 16, Mohamed Abdou had lauded Hamas’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel. Later, Columbia University president Nemat (Minouche) Shafik said that Abdou had been terminated, The Times of Israel reported.
More students erected pro-Palestinian camps across some of Canada’s largest universities, demanding they divest from groups with ties to Israel. Students also set up encampments at Canadian schools including the University of Toronto, the University of British Columbia and the University of Ottawa. There was also a pro-Israel counter-protest in Montreal on Thursday. The two sides were kept separate.