US police arrest 25 students at University of Virginia amid pro-Palestine rally

US Police at the University of Virginia have clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters who refused to remove tents from campus, arresting dozens of students, as anti-Israel protests are spreading rapidly on college campuses across the country in solidarity with Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

In Virginia, 25 pro-Palestinian students were arrested on Saturday. The students had begun their demonstration on the school chapel lawn the day before.

Footage by WVAW-TV shows law enforcement officers in riot gear with shields positioned at the Charlottesville campus.

The demonstrators were heard chanting “Free Palestine,” while university police announced on social media platform X that an “unlawful assembly” had been identified in the vicinity.

Students were forcefully pushed to the ground, dragged by their arms, and sprayed with a chemical irritant by police as they entered the university, according to Laura Goldblatt, an assistant professor of English and global studies assisting the student demonstrators quoted by The Washington Post.

“Our concern since this began has been the safety of our students. Students are not safe right now,” Goldblatt said.

The university administration has confirmed that demonstrators were instructed to take down their tents and canopies, which were deemed in violation of school policy. Virginia State Police were called upon to assist with enforcement, according to a statement released by the university.

US campus protests against Israeli war on Gaza going global

Students across the US are demanding that their universities and colleges disclose their ties to the Israeli regime, and at the same time divest from them.

Several universities across the US, such as Michigan, Indiana University, Ohio State University, and Northeastern University in Boston, were among the schools bracing for protests during commencement this weekend. More protests are expected in the upcoming weeks.

In Ann Arbor, Graduates waving Palestinian flags and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans were monitored by police officers during the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremony on Saturday. A banner displayed, “No universities left in Gaza,” as tens of thousands of attendees filled Michigan Stadium.

Approximately 75 individuals, many wearing traditional Arabic kaffiyehs and graduation caps, made their way up the main aisle toward the stage at the beginning of the event at Michigan Stadium. Officials said no one was arrested.

At Princeton, in New Jersey, 18 students launched a hunger strike to push the university to divest from companies tied to Israel.

After US, pro-Palestine student protests proliferate in Canada, France, Mexico, Australia

Pro-Palestine student protests have intensified in several countries across the world, including Canada, France, Mexico, and Australia, amid a crackdown on their counterparts in the United States and a mounting death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza.

Over the past few weeks, US campuses have become the battleground for demonstrations against the Israel war on Gaza, resulting in a series of tense and occasionally violent encounters.

The students are calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and demanding schools divest from companies that support the Israeli regime.

Protests are sweeping college campuses nationwide after police at Columbia University - the epicenter of student protests – attempted to clear a pro-Palestine encampment, resulting in the arrest of hundreds of students.

Brutal tactics are being used by the police, who also received training from the Israeli regime, specifically on repression, to stifle the student movement.

US police arrested about 2,400 people during pro-Palestinian protests at 47 college campuses across the country since April 18, the Associated Press reported.

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