Washington:
Washington police cleared a camp of pro-Palestinian protesters at George Washington University on Wednesday, authorities said, making several arrests before dawn.
Just after 4 a.m. (8 a.m.), hundreds of officers descended on a university square, making arrests and using pepper spray, student-run newspaper GW Hatchet reported. CNN said about three dozen people have been arrested.
Police remained on the scene around 10 a.m., an AFP reporter saw, as tents were dragged to a garbage truck and a student on the sidewalk held a poster reading “Free Palestine.”
The arrests came as the mayor and police chief of the nation's capital were scheduled to testify before Congress later in the day about why the clearing of the camp – which had entered its second week – had taken so long.
However, after the encampment was cleared, Republicans who control the House Oversight Committee said they would cancel the hearing.
“It was unfortunate that the situation at GW forced the Oversight Committee to take action; however, it was clear that DC Police would not do their jobs,” Rep. James Comer said in a statement.
Police said in a statement that they had attempted to “de-escalate tensions” without arrests, but that based on “incidents and information, there has been a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest.”
Campus protests have emerged across the country in recent weeks, with students demonstrating against the war in Gaza and calling on universities to cut direct or indirect financial ties with U.S. arms manufacturers and Israeli institutions.
The sometimes raucous meetings have shaken the universities to their foundations. Some Jewish students have reported threats and anti-Semitism, while pro-Israel counter-protesters at the University of California, Los Angeles, physically attacked demonstrators in an encampment.
Both President Joe Biden and universities have tried to walk a fine line between the right to free speech and concerns about harassment.
On Tuesday, Biden condemned a “savage wave” of anti-Semitism in a speech at the Capitol, saying: “There is no place on any campus in America – anywhere in America – for anti-Semitism or hate speech or threats of violence. Of every kind.”
Protesters — including some Jewish student organizers — have said they denounce acts of anti-Semitism, accusing their opponents of confusing criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism.
They have also criticized what they say is a heavy-handed police response – with more than 2,000 students arrested across the country – and said the harassment of Muslim, Palestinian and Jewish students who oppose the war is being ignored.
The unrest has continued through spring graduation ceremonies, with students at the University of Michigan unfurling Palestinian flags and starting chants.
Columbia, the epicenter of the demonstrations, canceled its main graduation ceremony on Monday.
The Ivy League school in New York, where at least a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested last week, raised security concerns.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Our staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)