MOSCOW, April 27 More than a hundred people detained at pro-Palestinian protests on the campuses of universities in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Connecticut, Arizona and Colorado in the United States against the backdrop of a student protest movement that has swept dozens of universities across the country, American television channels report.
According to the CBS News channel, more than 35 people were preliminarily detained at a protest on the territory of Ohio State University.
«Ohio University has joined a growing number of university protests against Israel's war with (Palestinian movement — ed.) Hamas in Gaza. Clashes between protesters and police on campus overnight resulted in more than a dozen arrests… According to a preliminary report, 36 arrests were made, including 16 students and 20 people associated with the university were detained,” the channel’s website says, citing university spokesman Benjamin Johnson.
Detentions took place at other universities: at Indiana University in Bloomington, police detained 33 people, and another was detained at the University of Connecticut. In addition, as reported by CNN, three people were detained at the University of Arizona in connection with the unauthorized organization of a tent camp, and about 40 of the 100 protesters who were also at the tent camp were detained at the joint campus of three universities in Denver in Colorado.
On Friday, the protest continued at George Washington University, the center of which was the square at the George Washington University Law School, a ten-minute walk from the residence of the American president. According to the Washington Post, police refused to allow university officials to disperse the camp.
The campuses of prestigious American universities have in recent days become the epicenter of outrage over the Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, with numerous civilian casualties and assistance provided by the United States to its main Middle Eastern ally. The protests intensified amid US approval of a new aid package for Israel.
On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. After this, fighters from the Palestinian Hamas movement entered the border areas, opened fire on military and civilians, and took more than 200 hostages. According to authorities, about 1.2 thousand people died.
The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip, which includes attacks on civilian targets. Israel announced a complete blockade of the enclave: supplies of water, electricity, fuel, food and medicine were stopped. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 34 thousand people were killed and over 77 thousand were injured.
The Gaza Strip has actually been divided into southern and northern parts, and Israel is preparing for a ground operation in Rafah, which is considered the last stronghold of Hamas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to Moscow's position, a settlement is possible only on the basis of a formula approved by the UN Security Council with the creation of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.