Dozens of agitators who occupied a building of Columbia University protesting against Israeli operation in Gaza have been arrested after New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were called in to clear the building, local media reports said.
Columbia University limited access to its Morningside Campus on Tuesday as dozens of student protesters occupied Hamilton Hall on the campus early Tuesday.
While the group who broke into the building includes students, it is led by individuals who are not affiliated with Columbia University, said Columbia University President Minouche Shafik in a letter to the NYPD on Tuesday.
“The individuals who have occupied Hamilton Hall have vandalized University property and are trespassing,” said Shafik.
Shafik requested the NYPD’s help to clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and all encampments on the campus of Columbia University.
More than 1,000 college students across the US have been arrested during anti-Israel protests that have sprung up “tent cities” at some of America’s most prestigious universities, the New York Post said.
The chaotic protests were spurred by the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” born at Columbia University, which saw more than 100 demonstrators arrested on April 18.
Since then, police have arrested demonstrators at more than 25 campuses nationwide, with several universities seeing more than 100 arrests.
