Violent clashes erupted on Wednesday on the campus of the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter-demonstrators, according to live video coverage provided by a US broadcaster.
The UCLA student newspaper Daily Bruin said supporters of Israel had tried to tear down a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the campus.
Police were responding to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block's request for support, Zach Seidl, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor of Communications, said on X.
Warning: The footage linked to below is violent and may disturb.
"Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight, and we immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support," vice-chancellor Mary Osako said, according to the BBC.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza and the ensuing Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave have unleashed the biggest outpouring of US student activism since the anti-racism protests of 2020.
Aerial footage from broadcaster KABC, an affiliate of ABC, showed people wielding sticks or poles to attack wooden boards being held up as a makeshift barricade to protect pro-Palestinian protesters, some holding placards or umbrellas.
Late on Tuesday, New York City police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators holed-up in an academic building on Columbia University campus in New York and removed a protest encampment that the Ivy League school had sought to dismantle for nearly two weeks.
Reuters / Newshub.
