Police clear pro-Palestine protesters from Columbia University's Hamilton Hall


Patrick deHahn
  • English
  • Arabic

New York police entered Columbia University grounds late on Tuesday to clear a pro-Palestine student group that had occupied an academic building.

News footage showed dozens of officers entering Hamilton Hall via a ladder that was extended from the roof of a police vehicle.

The protesters entered the building earlier in the day in a major escalation after two weeks of protests at the university. These demonstrations sparked similar protests at other college campuses in the US and abroad over Israel's war in Gaza.

Dozens of protesters were removed from the building and taken away in buses.

It was the second time the prestigious university had requested police assistance in responding to student protests on campus.

“We made the decision … that this was a law enforcement matter, and that the NYPD were best positioned to determine and execute an appropriate response,” a university spokesman said.

A letter from Columbia University President Nemat Shafik showed that she requested NYPD presence on campus until May 17, two days after commencement is scheduled to take place.

Weeks ago, scores of students formed an encampment on a campus lawn to demand that the school divest from finances and academic institutions connected to Israel's actions in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories.

A small group of protesters early on Tuesday entered and occupied Hamilton Hall, hours after negotiations between faculty and demonstrators failed. The group barricaded doors of the building with furniture and tables.

Palestinian flags and signs saying “intifada” were hung from windows of the building.

Police stand guard near an encampment of protesters supporting Palestinians on the grounds of Columbia University. Reuters
Police stand guard near an encampment of protesters supporting Palestinians on the grounds of Columbia University. Reuters

The White House earlier on Tuesday said that President Joe Biden believed “forcibly taking over a building on campus is absolutely the wrong approach”.

“We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions,” Columbia's spokesman Ben Chang said earlier.

Before Tuesday's police action, Columbia faculty and students posted screenshots of a “shelter in place” order sent by the school, warning that there would be disciplinary action if people left their spaces in the Morningside campus.

Reporters with campus radio station WKCR said some people were also standing in front of Hamilton Hall.

“We believe that the group that broke into and occupied the building is led by individuals who are not affiliated with the University,” the school claimed, repeating a statement that NYPD also said in an earlier presser.

More than 100 people were arrested in the university-ordered police clearing of the first encampment on April 18.

“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing,” the Columbia spokesman also said.

“We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”

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The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
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Match info

Wolves 0

Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')

Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)

QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
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Eliminated after second session

11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.

Eliminated after first session

15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
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Company profile

Name: Infinite8

Based: Dubai

Launch year: 2017

Number of employees: 90

Sector: Online gaming industry

Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor

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John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match

Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto

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Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal

Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos

Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe

AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out

The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match

Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last

Essentials

The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.

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Dust storm

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  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
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if you go
Company profile

Name: Thndr

Started: October 2020

Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: FinTech

Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000

Funding stage: series A; $20 million

Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC,  Rabacap and MSA Capital

Updated: May 01, 2024, 7:02 AM`