USC students clear Gaza encampment after police, uni. threaten arrest
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The University of Southern California confirms in an X post that campus grounds are now again open to students and faculty with valid ID, and that tents and camps remain prohibited.
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People stand guard outside an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the campus at the University of Southern California on Saturday, May 4, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP)
After being surrounded and threatened by police, students at the University of Southern California decided to leave their Gaza solidarity encampment, even as some students were removed forcibly by police.
“The Los Angeles Police Department is clearing the center of UPC (University Park Campus). If you are in the center of campus, please leave. People who don’t leave could be arrested,” the USC said on X.
UPC has been closed as a result of significant activity at the center of campus. If you are in the center of campus, please leave. People who don’t leave will be arrested. We will issue another alert when it is clear to return.
— USC (@USC) May 5, 2024
The campus area was evacuated and the tents were removed.
“The encampment at UPC has been cleared. The campus remains closed,” USC confirmed on X.
The University Park Campus is now open to students, faculty, and staff upon presentation of valid identification. As an important reminder: tents and related equipment remain prohibited on campus and will be subject to immediate confiscation; camping and other non-permitted event
— USC (@USC) May 5, 2024
Meanwhile, the slogan "Say No to Genocide" was seen spray-painted on the pedestal of the Tommy Trojan statue at the University of Southern California.
Zionist mobs attack UCLA protesters
California has been the scene of some violence as 60 pro-"Israel" demonstrators tried barging into the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, starting a fight after pro-"Israel" demonstrators threw fireworks at the encampment.
For the past few days, pro-"Israel" demonstrators have been waving Israeli flags, speaking through megaphones, playing music, and holding up images of the Israeli captives.
The pro-Palestinian encampment was declared illegal by officials at UCLA who warned protesters of consequences if they did not leave.
After the encampment was set up at Royce Hall, officials did not intervene, saying that it was to support the freedom of speech, but it was not long until pro-"Israel" groups began harassing the protesters.
After hurling insults at him, a Zionist mob brutally beat up a pro-#Palestine protester at #UCLA amid fierce clashes at the campus.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) May 1, 2024
Unlike New York, where the NYPD headed to #ColumbiaUniversity to disband the encampment in huge numbers, the #LAPD's response was very late,… pic.twitter.com/53Nb7jVkuQ
The university's chancellor, Gene Block, called the strategy of protesters entering the campus in his statement "shocking and shameful" and claimed that protesters who engaged in such behavior could be suspended or expelled.
It is worth mentioning that over 2,000 people have been arrested on US university campuses in the past three weeks as they took part in the pro-Palestine protests, urging their universities to divest from all investments linked to the Israeli occupation.
