Photo: Collected
The New York Police Department's (NYPD) officers have forced pro-Gaza protesters out of a roadway in New York City and continue to make sporadic arrests.
Media reported late on Tuesday (30 April) that the police detained nearly 100 people at Columbia University and declared the campus clear just before 11 p.m. local time (03:00 GMT on Wednesday). Special police units reportedly entered Hamilton Hall through a window using a truck and a ramp after 9 p.m. local time and detained some 40 people in the building's first floor.
Small groups of demonstrators still remain around the university, they were forced out of the roadway. The police were detaining individuals who were breaching the public order.
Earlier on Tuesday NYPD officers wearing helmets and armed with batons and plastic zip-tie handcuffs have set up an iron barricade at the intersection of Broadway and 113th Street a couple of blocks from the university, where students opposing Israel's operation in the Gaza Strip have barricaded themselves in, and were preventing young people from reaching their friends at the university.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik on Tuesday sent a letter to NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters Michael Gerber asking the police to retain a presence on campus through at least May 17 to maintain order.
"In light of the activities that occurred after the events of April 17-18, 2024, we further request that you retain a presence on campus through at least May 17, 2024 to maintain order and ensure encampments are not reestablished. We trust that you will take care and caution when removing any individual from our campus. The safety and security of our community is our highest priority, especially for our students. We appreciate your commitment to assist us in a peaceful and respectful manner at this difficult time," the letter read.
She added that the university's management asks the police to "clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and all campus encampments," saying that "the building occupation, the encampments, and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to persons, property, and the substantial functioning of the University and require the use of emergency authority to protect persons and property."
The Columbia University Senate has voted earlier in favor of a resolution calling for an investigation of Shafik, following the detention of more than a hundred people on campus.
In mid-April, as Hafik testified at a congressional hearing on anti-Semitism, Columbia students erected tents on a central lawn on campus to form a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment." The following day, Shafik authorized the New York Police Department in a controversial move to clear out the encampment, which also involved the suspension and detention of more than 100 people.
However, students have resurrected tents on campus, with protests continuing daily. Students at various other universities around the country, including at other Ivy Leagues such as Harvard, Yale, and Brown, have organized protests in solidarity with their Columbia counterparts.
Last week, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Shafik should resign from her leadership position amid the controversial pro-Palestine protest on the campus.
Numerous pro-Palestine demonstrations have emerged on US college campuses in recent days against the US military, financial and diplomatic support for Israel's operation in Gaza, which has resulted in the death of more than 34,000 Palestinians and the wounding of over 77,000 Palestinians.
Students are calling on their universities to condemn Israel’s US-backed military campaign in Gaza, to divest from companies linked to Israel, and to discontinue study abroad programs at Israeli universities, among other demands.
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