On Monday, authorities intervened to dismantle encampments at two additional US universities, coinciding with Columbia University’s decision to suspend in-person classes.

Amid ongoing student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, police detained numerous individuals during pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan.

At Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut, law enforcement arrested a minimum of 47 demonstrators on Monday evening, as confirmed by the university. Those students detained will face disciplinary measures.

After protesters erected tent encampments at Columbia University’s New York City campus last week, the university responded by suspending in-person classes on Monday, prompting police crackdowns.

At Yale University, where several hundred individuals had gathered to demand divestment from military weapons manufacturers, authorities had issued multiple warnings for students to disperse. Yale reiterated the possibility of law enforcement intervention and disciplinary consequences for those who remained.

As night fell, police in New York intervened at Gould Plaza near New York University, dispersing an encampment where hundreds of demonstrators had disregarded warnings from the university.

Social media footage captured a tense and chaotic scene as officers dismantled tents, with some tossing them aside while others engaged in physical confrontations with protesters.

Amidst the commotion, protesters clashed with officers, their chants echoing: “We will not stop, we will not rest. Disclose. Divest.”

A spokesperson for the New York police stated that arrests were carried out at the university’s request to address trespassing violations, though the full tally of arrests and citations would be determined later.

According to The Washington Square News, the NYPD announced via loudspeaker that students were being arrested for “disorderly conduct” and for unlawfully blocking traffic.

The law enforcement interventions at Yale and NYU followed several tense days on campuses throughout the US.

Last week, Columbia University President Nemat Minouche Shafik called upon New York police to dismantle a tent encampment on the university’s main lawn, where students were demanding divestment from companies linked to Israel.

Over 100 students faced trespassing charges and numerous suspensions from Columbia University and affiliated Barnard College following Thursday’s arrests.

Columbia University decided to cancel in-person classes on its New York City campus on Monday in an effort to “reset” and “deescalate” the situation.

Despite these efforts, a new encampment has sprung up, prompting hundreds of faculty members to stage a mass walkout in protest against the president’s handling of the situation.

Bassam Khawaja, an adjunct lecturer at Columbia Law School and supervising attorney at the school’s Human Rights Clinic, expressed shock and dismay at the president’s immediate recourse to the New York Police Department.

“This was, by all accounts, a non-violent protest,” she asserted. “It was a group of students camping out on the lawn in the middle of campus. It’s not any different from everyday life on campus.”

Following the crackdown at Columbia, students across the US initiated their own protests in solidarity, with many urging their universities to support a ceasefire in Gaza and to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Protests have spread to various universities across the United States, with students at Brown, Princeton, and Northwestern staging demonstrations on Friday and throughout the weekend.

In the Boston area, students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Emerson College have established their own protest encampments.

Additionally, institutions such as Boston University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have witnessed protest actions as well.

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