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Live updates: Pro-Palestinian university protests disrupt Columbia, UCLA, campuses across the US
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The number of demonstrators on George Washington University’s campus had reduced to about 20 people by Sunday night, but another group erected an encampment of about 20 tents on a nearby public street over the weekend, the school said.
As an encampment grew on campus over the past few days, the university’s administration decided students who remained there after being asked to leave would be temporarily suspended and “administratively barred” from school grounds.
“On Friday evening, April 26, demonstrators barred from University Yard established a second encampment in the middle of H Street, beyond the barriers securing GW property.
“Currently, we are aware of approximately 20 tents erected in the street by individuals from across the region. This demonstration is on public property and under the jurisdiction of the DC government,” the university said.
The university said there had been no incidents of violence during on-campus demonstrations, though it added, “the actions of some protestors have been highly offensive to many members of our community.”
No further details on the alleged actions were provided.
Earlier on Sunday, a crowd of demonstrators chanted “Free Palestine” to the beat of a drum on H Street NW, some of them wearing keffiyeh and waving Palestinian flags. The street was blocked by law enforcement, and a number of DC Metropolitan Police officers were in the area.
Flags, signs and sidewalk chalk decorated the encampment, where protestors said they would stay until the university fulfills their demands, which include disclosing its financial endowments and divesting from Israeli associations — similar to the message of many other college protests nationwide.
One counter-protester walked through the crowd with an Israeli flag draped around her shoulders. Demonstrators chanted, “Free, free, free Palestine,” at the protester, while one held a sign that read, “Genocide is bad.”
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