Pro-Palestine protests: police force into California University camps

California: Following the attack on a pro-Palestinian protest camp on Tuesday night by pro-Israelies, hundreds of police troops in riot gear moved into a central plaza of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) early on Thursday, Reuters reported.

This has been the latest development after the mass movement triggered at Columbia University in the US where pro-Palestinian protesters started peaceful demonstrations, but things turned dirty following interventions by security forces and aggressive responses from pro-Israelites. After the stringent protests by pro-Palestinians spilt into more campuses in the US, there were clashes between pro-Palestinian students and police as well as pro-Israelites.

Reuters’ live footage showed police in riot gear moving into the campus, next to pro-Palestinian protesters, by sunset on Wednesday. While 300 to 500 pro-Palestinians stayed inside the camp, there were around 2,000 more that gathered outside the security barricades.

The assembled police stood at the perimeter of the camp for hours but forced their way in around 3:15 am in a bid to arrest occupants who refused to leave. The force that moved inside, carrying batons and shields, was made up of troops from California Highway Patrol, Reuters reported. Before the troops moved in, they demanded, through megaphones, the protesters to disperse.

The protesters made an effort to defend themselves and block the officers with makeshift shields, umbrellas and flashing bright lights at the eyes of the police.

Police started dismantling the materials, such as plywood, that the protesters used to build a wall around them, The New York Times reported. Some of the protesters were equipped with hard hats, goggles and respirator masks as they were anticipating a siege. A day ago, the university declared that the protest encampment was unlawful.