Police arrest dozens of pro-Palestinian students occupying New York University building

Hamilton Hall on the university campus in Manhattan had been occupied by pro-Palestinian students since Monday evening. The activists had been given 24 hours by Columbia University, a prestigious Ivy League university with 27,000 students, to leave on their own, but that deadline had been exceeded.

On Tuesday evening (local time), the campus, which is normally open to passers-by, was completely closed off, after which the New York police entered the campus. With the normal entrances blocked with furniture and tied with ropes, officers climbed a ladder onto a police truck to enter through a window.

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The activists replaced an American flag with a Palestinian one and renamed the building Hind’s Hall, a tribute to Hind Rajab, a six-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza who was killed by the Israeli army as paramedics tried to save her. They were also dissatisfied with their university’s investments in Israel and demanded that they be stopped.

According to Columbia University, there was no choice but to have the students removed. The head of the university, Minouche Shafik, has asked the New York Police Department to be on campus “at least until May 17, 2024” to “maintain order and ensure that no tent camp is established.”

“Hyjacked protest”

According to police, many activists are not students, but individuals intent on escalating matters. “What was supposed to be a peaceful protest was actually taken over by professional outside agitators,” Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams said of the attempt to take over a building on campus. This also involves activists without a link to the university, according to the New York police. According to Adams, their presence goes against university policy and is an attempt to “create further chaos.” “This is to serve their own agenda. They are here to sow discord and division.”

In a letter to the New York Police Department, Shafik also said the occupation of the school building was led by “individuals not affiliated with the university,” something the students dispute.

One of the attendees, a 63-year-old woman, appears in several videos on social media. It shows how she instructs students and encourages them to resist. According to Fox News, this concerns former Occupy activist Lisa Fithian, a left-wing professional demonstrator who has previously been involved in violent (student) protests and is therefore known to the police.

A thousand arrests

Dozens of arrests also occurred near Columbia University, at the City College of New York. A camp had been set up there against the war in Gaza since Thursday. Many activists demonstrating at Columbia University joined the nearby protest once that first demonstration ended.

American universities have long been the scene of student protests against the war in Gaza. The demonstrators are demanding a ceasefire and a boycott of companies and individuals linked to Israel. In recent weeks, more than a thousand arrests have been made.