Late on Tuesday evening, a gaggle of pro-Israel counter-protesters stormed onto UCLA’s campus, tore down barricades of the Gaza solidarity encampment and assaulted pro-Palestine protesters with steel pipes, mace and pepper spray.
Anna, a spokesperson for the encampment who gave solely her first identify, informed Al Jazeera that dozens of pro-Palestine protesters had been injured within the assault, which passed off partly beneath the gaze of police, who solely stepped in after a number of hours.
“They had been coming at us with steel pipes, stated Anna. “Quite a few folks went to the hospital due to how badly they had been injured. One individual left in a wheelchair. One other had their hand utterly smashed.”
The assault was the fruits of a number of days of harassment from pro-Israel teams, who beforehand tried to interrupt into the camp and arrange loudspeakers to disturb the pro-Palestine protesters.
Regardless of the violence and harassment, UCLA’s pro-Palestine protest has continued in pressure. And the scholars need their message to stay on the forefront.
“That is about how we … can deliver consideration to the plight of Palestinians and to the genocide in Gaza,” Anna stated.
