Using only his first name, Yusef appeared at a press conference this Thursday to offer graphic testimony of the events that took place on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
He displayed the twelve points that were put in his head during the counter-protest of Jewish citizens against the encampment of pro-Palestine people like him. “I had the possibility of going to a hospital. Currently, in Gaza there is no hospital that is in service,” he denounced.
At least 25 other protest colleagues were injured in that attack. Barely 24 hours later, the police stormed the campus, citing security reasons, and dismantled the camp in another demonstration of police power, like the previous one in New York, sowing chaos.
The uniformed officers dismantled the “fortification” created by the protesters and detained about 200 people, according to the sheriff’s office, after being warned that they would either leave or be arrested. Most were charged with minor crimes, such as illegal assembly, they were summoned to court and released.
Once the fight was over, the cranes took possession of the land to proceed with its cleaning. The operation at UCLA is one of many that the uniformed officers are carrying out this week at universities in all corners of the United States. As of this Thursday, the total number of detainees had already risen to 2,000.
The forceful police response is marking a new phase in these protests, described as 99% peaceful.
The authorities have run out of patience while politicians calculate the partisan impact of these demonstrations of rejection of Israel’s response in Gaza and the support of the US Government.
Behind the entrance of the uniformed men at Columbia University in New York, a professors’ association demanded that the rector, Nemat Minouche Shafik, submit to a vote of no confidence. In their statement they criticized that the rector and the administrative board authorized the entry of the agents. “This culminated in a horrific attack on our students and a disgraceful image.”
