Police intervened in protests in support of Palestine in the USA. New York Police Department (NYPD) special units arrived at the Columbia University campus in New York and detained pro-Palestinian students who continued their protests at the historic Hamilton Hall.
DISTRIBUTED WITH POLICE INTERVENTION
The Gaza Solidarity Camp, which was established by students at Columbia University’s Morningside Heights Campus a while ago, was dispersed by the intervention of police teams.
The police arrived at the Hamilton Hall building, where protesting students had recently entered, with the help of large trucks and specially prepared ramps, and were protested by the public gathered on the Amsterdam Street side of the building.
DOZENS OF STUDENTS IN CUSTODY
The police entered the Hamilton Hall building through the window and broke down the barricades inside. They intervened harshly, took dozens of students out of the campus and detained them.
New York police also removed the Gaza Solidarity Camp tents from the campus area.
In the statement made by Columbia University shortly before the police intervention, it was stated that the NYPD was asked for help to restore the security and order of the community.
ACTIONS IN SUPPORT TO PALESTINE AT US UNIVERSITIES
Supporting Palestine students at Columbia University started a sit-in protest in the campus garden in mid-April to protest the school’s ongoing financial investments in companies that support Israel’s attacks and occupation in Gaza.
On the second day of the protests, the Rectorate requested help from the New York police to disperse the demonstrators, and the police entered the campus and detained 108 students.
The incident at Columbia University brought back to the agenda the discussions about “freedom of expression” restrictions that started against Palestinian students at universities in the USA after October 7, 2023, and student protests in response to the detentions spread to other universities across the country.
Student protests in support of Palestine are still continuing in more than 50 major universities across the USA, and it is stated that the police have detained more than 1000 students, including some faculty members, in the last 2 weeks.
(AA)
