New York University students set up a new pro-Palestinian encampment Friday, after over 130 students and faculty were arrested at an encampment earlier this week.
The protesters are calling on the university to divest and cut ties with Israel and companies profit from its onslaught on Gaza — including shutting down the NYU Tel Aviv campus and a boycott of Tel Aviv University. They are also calling for full amnesty for pro-Palestinian activism and for IOF-trained cops to leave campus.
“Despite the violent repression students have face, we will not back down. We have no reason to fear when Palestinians demonstrate their courage and resiliency in the face of far greater danger. Our fear has turned into resolve,” the NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition said in a statement Saturday.
Protesters say they were removed and arrests were made at a “100% peaceful” protest earlier this week, refuting the university’s allegation that there was “antagonizing behavior” and a security breach caused it to invite New York police onto campus and make arrests, a representative for the NYU PSC told ABC News.
Protesters say they calmly entered the encampment after the university did not follow through on providing a timeline of when they would allow more students into the plaza, according to the student who was at the protest outside the encampment, but was not arrested.
Police started making arrests Monday after Muslim protesters began Maghreb prayer — a daily Muslim prayer made during the sunset hour — according to the student.
“Our peaceful protest was met with complete and utter violence green lighted by our university president and her administration,” the student, who asked that ABC News conceal their identity for safety, said.
The university pushed back against the protester’s account, saying “there is no right to create encampments of tents on the University’s property.”
“Despite repeatedly being told no additional protesters would be permitted on the plaza – early on Monday afternoon protesters on West 4th Street breached the barricades we had set up, nearly doubling the number of people on the plaza, with hundreds of additional demonstrators in the street,” NYU said in a statement to ABC News.
“Those on the plaza urged them onwards and that Campus Safety Officers were shoved and forced out of the way by people attempting to gain entry to the plaza,” NYU said.
-ABC News’ Nadine El-Bawab
