Campus protests in US: Palestinian flag raised in Harvard

Washington: In the US, pro-Palestine protests continue to grow as police arrested 275 more people during the weekend. The protests were triggered by Israel's merciless offensive into Gaza, first at Columbia University in New York, spilt into more campuses in the US.

On Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters raised the Palestinian flag at the Ivy League School Harvard University, at a spot usually reserved for the US national flag, NDTV reported.

Protesters also raised the flag from a top-floor window at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner takes place.

The police crackdown and arrest could not contain the spreading of furious protests across US universities.

Over the weekend, police arrested 275 people from four different campuses. There were 100 arrests at Northeastern University in Boston, 80 at Washington University in St Louis, 72 at Arizona State University, and 23 at Indiana University.

There were reports of clashes broke between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA, where a tent encampment was erected last week.

Following the nationwide protests catching President Joe Biden's attention, the White House appealed that the demonstrations must remain peaceful.

The pro-Palestinian protesters are demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. They also require colleges to sever ties with Israel as well as the companies that profit from the Gaza conflict.

Meanwhile, universities are facing a major challenge in finding a balance between commitments to free speech and expression and complaints that the demonstrations are turning anti-Semitic.

Israel initiated its full-fledged offensive into Gaza following a Hamas lightning attack on Israel territories on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 Israeli citizens. Hamas also took 250 hostages then but let some of them return later. Israel's retaliation, which still continues, has killed 34,000 Gazans so far.