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Dozens of protestors have been arrested after Columbia University called in the New York Police Department to end the pro-Palestinian occupation on campus.
Police said the university’s Hamilton Hall – which protestors renamed ‘Hind Hall’ in honour of a killed Palestinian girl – was cleared of protesters who took over building on Tuesday.
The scene unfolded shortly after 9pm yesterday evening as police, wearing helmets and carrying zip ties and riot shields, gathered at the Ivy League university’s entrance.
The demonstrators had occupied Hamilton Hall more than 12 hours earlier, after a weeks-long encampment on campus nearby.
A statement released by a Columbia spokesperson late on Tuesday said officers arrived on campus after the university requested help – hours after the NYPD said officers would not enter the university campus without university request or an imminent emergency.
The statement read: ‘After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no
‘The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing. We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.’
More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on university campuses in Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey.
The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia on Tuesday and California State Polytechnic University Humboldt earlier in the week.
Dozens of protestors were taken into custody (Picture: X)
More than 1,000 protesters have been arrested over the last two weeks on university campuses in Texas, Utah, Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, Connecticut, Louisiana, California and New Jersey.
The White House condemned the standoffs at Columbia on Tuesday and California State Polytechnic University Humboldt earlier in the week.
Other universities have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies.
Police used a ramp to enter the building (Picture: EPA)
The nationwide campus protests began at Columbia in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7.
Militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took roughly 250 hostages.
In return, Israel has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to the local health ministry.
Demonstrations have erupted across the country, and abroad, as university students begin to protest (Picture: AP/Metro.co.uk)