Dozens of students have been arrested after a police operation to clear out a building at Columbia University that had been taken over as part of a pro-Palestinian protest.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night when hundreds of New York City police officers entered the campus in upper Manhattan, which has been a focal point for nationwide student protests opposing Israel's war in Gaza.
Live video images showed police in riot gear marching on the campus and using an armored vehicle with a bridging mechanism to gain entry to the second floor of the building.
While officers said they used flash bangs to disperse the crowd, they denied using tear gas as part of the operation. The police were seen leading protesters, who were handcuffed with zip ties, to a line of police buses waiting outside the campus gates.
The arrests came after tensions had been building for nearly two weeks, with pro-Palestinian protesters at the university ignoring an ultimatum to abandon their encampment or risk suspension.
Columbia University officials had threatened academic expulsion for the students who had seized Hamilton Hall, an eight-story neo-classical building that was blocked by protesters forming a barricade and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans.
The university stated that it had asked the police to enter the campus to “restore safety and order to our community” after learning that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalized, and blockaded.
They emphasized that the group who broke into and occupied the building was not affiliated with the university and that the decision to involve the police was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they were championing.
The level of police presence and the arrests of students at Columbia and other New York universities have sparked outrage among some politicians.
New York Congressman Jamaal Bowman expressed his outrage at the militarization of college campuses and called on the Columbia administration to stop the dangerous escalation. He emphasized that education should be a cornerstone of democracy and that the extensive police presence contradicted that role.
Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, has requested that the police maintain a presence until at least May 17th to ensure that order is maintained and that encampments are not re-established.
Efforts to reach a compromise with protest organizers had failed, and the institution has made it clear that it will not bow to demands to divest from Israel.
In addition to the arrests at Columbia University, there were also reports of dozens of arrests at City College of New York, which is part of the City University of New York system (CUNY).
Some students from Columbia had moved to the City College campus, where a protest sit-in was still ongoing. The police were requested to disperse the protesters at CUNY as well.
The situation has highlighted the ongoing tensions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the impact it has had on university campuses.
Students who are participating in the protests have expressed their concerns about human rights, free speech, and the need to raise awareness about the situation in Gaza. However, the police and university officials have emphasized the need to maintain safety and order on campus.
As the situation continues to unfold, it is clear that there are strong opinions on both sides of the debate.
The arrests at Columbia University and City College of New York have sparked a wider conversation about the role of protests on college campuses and the balance between free speech and maintaining a safe and orderly environment for all students.
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