Police mass near UCLA anti-Israel protest camp, order protesters to clear the area

Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators watch police activity behind a makeshift barricade on the UCLA campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrators watch police activity behind a makeshift barricade on the UCLA campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Law enforcement officers gather by the hundreds on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles after darkness fell on Wednesday in preparation to clear out an anti-Israel protest camp after clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters a night earlier.

Live television footage shows police in tactical gear filing onto the UCLA campus adjacent to a complex of tents occupied by throngs of demonstrators. Some activists are seen donning hard hats, goggles and respirator masks in anticipation of the raid a day after the university declared the encampment unlawful.

A few work to construct homemade shields out of plywood in case they clash with police forming skirmish lines elsewhere on the campus.

Hundreds of other pro-Palestinian activists assemble outside the tent city jeering police with chants of “Shame on you,” some banging on drums and waving Palestinian flags, as officers marched onto the campus grounds. Many of the demonstrators wore the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves.

Before moving in, police urge the demonstrators to clear the protest area in a grassy plaza between the landmark twin-tower auditorium Royce Hall and the main undergraduate library.

The law enforcement presence and continued warnings stand in contrast to the scene that unfolded the night before, when dueling groups of pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters clashed, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another as days of tensions over the war in Gaza burst into outright violence.

Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, though no arrests were made. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries, and the tepid response by authorities drew criticism from political leaders as well as students and advocacy groups.

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