NYPD removes pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University, dozens arrested

More than 100 protesters were arrested at the Columbia University and City College of New York on Tuesday (Apr 30), according to law enforcement officials.

Around two dozen protesters were arrested, who as per the police tried to prevent officers from entering the campus, the official said.

New York City police moved in on Columbia University late Tuesday (Apr 30), encountering dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters still occupying parts of the campus.

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In a letter addressed to the New York Police Department, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik said that the occupation of the school building was being led by "individuals who are not affiliated with the University" and asked "NYPD's help to clear all individuals from Hamilton Hall and all campus encampments."

She also asked the police to remain on campus through at least May 17, "to ensure encampments are not reestablished." Commencement is scheduled for May 15.

Following authorisation from Columbia University, the New York Police Department deployed officers to the university campus.

After entering the campus, a contingent of police officers approached Hamilton Hall, the administration building that students began occupying in the morning.

"We’re clearing it out," police officers yelled as they marched up to the barricaded entrance of Hamilton Hall, an academic building that protesters had broken into and seized control of in the early morning hours of Tuesday.

A long line of police officers was seen climbing into the building through a second-storey window, using a vehicle with a ladder to gain access to the upper floor.

Students had disobediently set up tents again after police cleared an encampment at the university on April 18 and arrested more than 100 people. The students had been protesting on the Manhattan campus since the previous day, opposing Israeli military action in Gaza and demanding the school divest from companies they claim are profiting from the conflict.

Over the past two weeks, campus protests across at least nine states, including Texas, Utah, and California, have resulted in over 1,000 arrests, some following confrontations between protesters and police in riot gear.

“Walk away from this situation now and continue your advocacy through other means,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised the Columbia protesters on Tuesday afternoon. “This must end now.”

Biden condemns use of term ‘intifada’ at college protest

The White House condemned the takeover of a Columbia University building by pro-Palestinian protesters and the use of the term ‘intifada’ during the protest inside the college campus.

The protesters hung a banner down the building which read ‘INTIFADA,’ the Arabic word for rebellion or uprising.

"President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life," Andrew Bates, a White House assistant press secretary, said in a statement.

"He condemns the use of the term 'intifada,' as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days."

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, “President Joe Biden believes students occupying an academic building is definitely the wrong approach and does not represent a peaceful protest.”

Other colleges have sought to negotiate agreements with the demonstrators in the hopes of having peaceful commencement ceremonies.

Northwestern University achieved a resolution by agreeing with student and faculty protesters on its campus. This agreement allows peaceful demonstrations to continue for the remainder of the spring semester.

Columbia has warned that students occupying the building face expulsion.

The university outlined in a press update on Tuesday that those in the encampments and Hamilton Hall number in the dozens,while nearly 37,000 attend Columbia.

The Gaza war started when Hamas militants staged an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 that left around 1,170 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

During their attack, militants also seized hostages, 129 of whom Israel estimates remain in Gaza, including 34 whom the military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

(With inputs from agencies)