At least 900 protesters against Israel and its war in the Gaza Strip have been detained at US universities over the past ten days, The Washington Post writes.
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was also detained at Washington University in St. Louis.
The wave of student protests intensified after more than a hundred protesters were detained on the Columbia University campus on April 18. Clashes with the police began and arrests of protestors continued.
Students from other universities in different states came out to protest, and the police, who were called by the management of the educational institutions, also began to disperse them. However, in the District of Columbia, police said that “taking enforcement action against a small number of peaceful protesters did not align with the department’s interests” and they did not come to George Washington University.
Los Angeles police also said they were not involved in quelling unrest on the University of California campus, where clashes broke out between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators.
The White House said protesters should have the right to publicly express their opinions, but it must be peaceful. Biden condemned anti-Semitism and hate speech.
