Police in the United States capital dispersed a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University at dawn on Wednesday and arrested 33 people, the latest evacuation to date from an American campus shaken by demonstrations demanding an end to the war in Gaza.
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The Washington police, who initially balked at the idea of intervening according to the American press, took action on the day the city’s mayor and police chief were to be heard by Congress on the subject.
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The hearing was canceled, with Republican elected official James Comer welcoming the fact that the police had evacuated “anti-Semitic and lawless demonstrators”.
The rallies reignited the debate, already very tense in the country since the start of the conflict, on freedom of expression, anti-Zionism and what constitutes anti-Semitism.
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Pro-Palestinian students claim that their universities and the political class are using the accusation of anti-Semitism to muzzle their defense of civilians in Gaza, while several elected officials accuse them of fueling a discourse of hatred and violence against Jews.
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Garbage truck
Early Wednesday, the surroundings of the campus of George Washington University (GW), in the center of the capital, not far from the White House, were cordoned off by the police.
Workers dragged the tents occupied by protesters to a garbage truck, while the street was cleaned with water.
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“I think they (students) should be able to protest. And the cops have other things to do,” a student who preferred to remain anonymous told AFP.
Washington police chief Pamela Smith justified the evacuation by noting an “escalation” in recent days, saying that “objects likely to be used as defensive and offensive weapons were being gathered”.
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Thirty-three people were arrested and police used pepper spray, she added.
It was around 4 a.m. local time that the police intervened, according to student media GW Hatchet, which published images of the confrontation, including a young man cleaning his eyes with clean water.
“Threaten”
“The police can evacuate (the camp) (…). People will come back immediately,” Hanaan, 21, a GW student who did not wish to give her last name and participated in the pro-Palestinian protests, told AFP.
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The police chief warned the press that the police would not allow a new camp to be set up on the site.
The Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, welcomed the dispersal of an encampment that he described as “pro-Hamas”, regretting that it was necessary to “threaten” the mayor with a hearing before Congress “to ensure the safety of Jewish students at George Washington University.”
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American campuses have been shaken for several weeks by demonstrations against the war waged by Israel in Gaza. The conflict was sparked in October by an attack in Israel by Palestinian Hamas.
Across the United States, law enforcement officers were called upon by university administrations to dismantle encampments and dislodge demonstrators by force.
President Joe Biden said last week that “order must prevail” on campuses, while saying there was no question of “silencing people.” He pledged Tuesday to combat the “fearsome” progression of anti-Semitism.
