Hundreds of law enforcement officers gathered on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in the United States after dark on Wednesday, preparing to clear a pro-Palestinian protest camp that was attacked by pro-Israel supporters the previous night. Live television footage showed police forces equipped with gear present on the university campus alongside tents of protest crowds. Some activists were seen wearing helmets, protective goggles, and breathing masks in anticipation of the raid, following the university's announcement that the protest camp was illegal.
Los Angeles police withdrew from the University of California after students insisted on remaining in their positions. The police had entered the area two hours earlier in an attempt to disperse the protest camps for Palestine. Their attempt ended in failure, and protesters remained.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists gathered outside the camp and condemned the police actions, chanting "Shame on you." Some beat drums and waved Palestinian flags as security forces entered the campus. Many protesters wore Palestinian keffiyehs.
Before entering the campus, the police urged protesters through a loudspeaker to clear the protest area, according to Reuters. The University of California canceled classes for the day after violent clashes erupted late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning between camp occupants and a group of masked counter-protesters who attacked the protest camp with sticks and clubs.
Camp occupants, established the previous week, remained largely peaceful before the clash, which university officials attributed to "instigators," and they pledged to conduct an investigation. This followed a day after New York City police arrested pro-Palestinian activists who occupied an academic building at Columbia University and dismantled a protest camp there. New York City Mayor Eric Adams stated that police arrested around 300 individuals at Columbia and City College in New York, with several being charged for trespassing and intentional damage.
The clashes at the University of California and in New York are part of the largest American student movement since the anti-racism protests in 2020. In recent days, students organized gatherings and marches or set up tents to protest and demonstrate across dozens of colleges in the United States, expressing their opposition to the Israeli war on Gaza and calling for their universities to distance themselves from companies supporting the Israeli government. Many colleges and universities called the police to curb the protests.
