Mass Arrests Made As US Campus Protests Over Gaza Spread

Protests against the war in Gaza have spread from Columbia and Yale to other US universities as officials scramble to defuse demonstrations.

On Monday night, police moved to break up a protest at New York University and made a number of arrests.

Dozens of students were arrested at Yale earlier in the day, while Columbia cancelled in-person classes.

Similar "encampments" have sprung up at Berkeley, MIT and other top colleges across the country.

Demonstrations and heated debates about the Israel-Gaza war and free speech have rocked US campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, which prompted Israel's campaign in Gaza.

In the US, students on both sides say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since then.

When asked about the campus protests on Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned both "the antisemitic protests" as well as "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".

The campus protest movement was thrust into the spotlight last week after New York City police were called out to Columbia University's campus in the city and arrested more than 100 demonstrators.
  



BBC