Dozens arrested at Columbia University as New York police disperse Gaza protest

Hundreds of New York City police officers entered Columbia University on Tuesday evening to clear an academic building taken over by pro-Palestinian students the day before, as tensions surrounding the students’ campus encampment for Gaza have roiled the New York school for two weeks.

Live video images showed police in riot gear marching onto the upper Manhattan campus, the focal point of nationwide student protests opposing Israel’s war in Gaza.

“We’re clearing it out,” police yelled as they marched up to the barricaded entrance to the building.

“Shame! Shame!” jeered many onlooking undergrads still outside on campus.

Dozens of police marched to the protest encampment. Before long, officers were seen leading handcuffed protesters to police vehicles outside campus gates.

Police loaded about 50 detainees onto a bus, each with their hands bound behind their backs by zip ties, the entire scene illuminated with the flashing red and blue lights of police vehicles. Ambulances and other emergency-services vehicles stood at the ready. According to New York police, flash-bangs were used to disperse the crowd, but not teargas.

“Free, free, free Palestine,” chanted protesters outside the building. Others yelled: “Let the students go.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters at the university ignored the Monday ultimatum by school leadership to abandon their encampment or risk suspension. The university said it started suspensions early on Monday evening.

“We have begun suspending students as part of this next phase of our efforts to ensure safety on our campus,” the university said in an update on its website. “Once disciplinary action is initiated, adjudication is handled by several different units within the university based on the nature of the