Columbia college sets new medical research milestones - Elite University in New York sees tensions heighten as police disperse pro-Palestine demonstration.
At Columbia University, hundreds of police officers stormed the campus in northern Manhattan last Tuesday evening, forcing their way into Hamilton Hall to arrest protesters who had been demonstrating against Israel's actions in the Gaza war. Protesters were calling for support of the Palestinians and urging the university to cut financial ties with Israel. However, university management rejecting these demands and called on police assistance when masked demonstrators, wearing Palestinian scarves, smashed windows, broke into Hamilton Hall, and barricaded the building's entrance with chairs and tables.
During this police operation, the officers also searched and cleared out a nearby solidarity camp which had set up tents. Video footage revealed protesters forming human chains to prevent the police from advancing, but they were either pushed away or torn apart.
Following this third act of violence on campus, the university declared that it couldn't tolerate any further disruptions and threatened to take action against the students. The US government also condemned their actions as not being in line with peaceful protests.
Having started in April, pro-Palestinian student protests in the USA have led to over 1,000 arrests. Universities across the states, including in California, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, and Florida, felt the heat of the tension, as police forces intervened.
In response to the violent demonstrations, Hamas and other Islamic groups had killed more than 1,200 people while taking over 250 hostages in Gaza during their conflict with Israel on October 7, 2014. Afterward, Israel retaliated with ground attacks and air strikes on the coastal area. Though the Hamas-controlled health authorities claim that around 34,500 people have died since the start of this war, independent verification of these numbers is challenging. Over 100 demonstrators were reported into custody in the same incident at Columbia University.
Columbia University has experienced similar incidents in the past, with demonstrators occupying Hamilton Hall during a protest against the Vietnam War back in 1968. The latest protests were not well-received and attracted accusations of anti-Semitism and trivializing Hamas, which denies Israel's right to exist and initiated the Gaza war with a massacre on October 7, 2014.
The pro-Palestinian students' actions at Columbia University have gained widespread criticism. The preeminent institution exposed its tough stance by threatening to suspend those who continued with their protests. National Security Council Communications Director, John Kirby, also labeled their actions as a misreprepresention of peace.
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Source: www.stern.de
