By Henry Nwaneri
After an intense conflict which occured on Thursday night, at least 50 students and staff demonstrators at a campus encampment protesting Israel’s war in Gaze have been arrested by the police at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Despite the arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department, some students vehemently stayed back at the campus while others have returned to the protest site, according to UCLA Radio.
The protesters were asked to leave less than a day after the encampment was attacked by a pro-Israel group of counter-protesters, prompting criticism of the Los Angeles Police Department, whose officers were accused of not responding promptly.
On Thursday, officers seen wearing body armor, helmets and face shields methodically pulled apart the barricade as protesters tried to hold together the assemblage of plywood and metal fencing.
Police launched flares that arced over the encampment, igniting with piercing blasts, and smoke filled the air from fire extinguishers that demonstrators sprayed at the police.
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In recent weeks, UCLA, like other universities across the country, has emerged as a hotbed of pro-Palestinian activism.
UCLA students on April 25 engaged in a peaceful protest against Israel’s war on Gaza, and demanded that UCLA divest from companies with financial ties to Israel, acknowledge Palestinian lives and statehood and condemn Israel as an apartheid state.
Many protesters, even those who have been arrested, say they will continue their demonstrations no matter the situation.
Several senior politicians have criticised the attack on the pro-Palestinian protesters by the pro-Israel group.
California governor Gavin Newsom released a statement on Wednesday morning saying “I condemn the violence at UCLA last night.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a statement on X on Wednesday afternoon saying that, “Those involved in launching fireworks at other people, spraying chemicals and physically assaulting others will be found, arrested, and prosecuted, as well as anyone involved in any form of violence or lawlessness.”
