Biden says 'order must prevail' as student pro-Palestinian protests sweep US universities

Arrests have been made at the University of California as police clash with pro-Palestinian students, ITV News' US Correspondent Robert Moore reports

Police have arrested more than 200 pro-Palestine supporters at University of California, Los Angeles as they tore down barricades and fired rubber bullets, after hundreds of people ignored orders to disperse.

Another 300 people voluntarily left throughout the hours-long standoff, some filing out of the encampment with their hands over their heads, according to the university.

One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities said. No one was injured by the officer's mistake.

Police have now arrested around 2,200 protesters at dozens of colleges across the US, according to a tally by Associated Press.

The confrontations at UCLA played out over several days this week.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block told alumni on a call on Thursday afternoon that the trouble started after a permitted pro-Israel rally was held on campus on Sunday.

Then fights broke out and “live mice” were reportedly tossed into the pro-Palestinian encampment later that day.

It comes as president Joe Biden defended the right to protest but insisted that “order must prevail” as university campuses across the country face unrest over the war in Gaza.

“Dissent is essential for democracy," he said at the White House. "But dissent must never lead to disorder.”

The president also said the protests have not caused him to reconsider his approach to the war or Middle East policies, and he opposes sending in National Guard.

Biden has occasionally criticised Israel's conduct but continued to supply it with weapons.

Police have begun tearing down barricades and dismantling a pro-Palestinian fortified encampment at the UCLA campus after hundreds defied orders to leave, ITV News Sam Holder reports

A handful of people were detained on Wednesday with their wrists zip-tied.

As police officers moved through the encampment ripping down barricades and tents, demonstrators used umbrellas like shields as they faced off against dozens of officers.

ITV News' US partner CNN has observed what they believe were rubber bullets being shot at protesters by officers.

Campuses across the US have descended into violence and chaos over the past few weeks as pro-Palestine and Israel supporters continue to clash.

Protest demands vary from campus to campus, but a major focus is that universities divest from companies with financial ties to Israel amid its war with Hamas. There have also been counter-protests.

Police march through a group of UCLA pro-Palestinian protesters but quickly leave

UCLA's campus in particular was the scene of aggressive confrontations between opposing protesters. Fighting broke out with items being thrown, pepper spray being released and barriers being torn down.

The fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in to control the chaos.

The standoff between police and protesters has gone back and forth throughout the evening. Police had initially set up a perimeter around the encampment before retreating due to being outnumbered.

Reports have said that protesters had begun throwing bottles and other objects at officers before they began moving back.

The police however returned in greater numbers and began dispersing the protesters.

As police helicopters hovered overhead, the sound of flash-bangs, which produce a bright light and a loud noise to disorient and stun people, could be heard as police moved in. Chants of “where were you last night?" could be heard.

California Highway Patrol officers wearing face shields and protective vests stood with their batons protruding out to separate them from demonstrators, who wore helmets and gas masks and chanted, “you want peace. We want justice.”

Tent encampments of protesters calling on universities to stop doing business with Israel or companies they say support the war in Gaza have spread across campuses nationwide in a student movement unlike any other this century.

The ensuing police crackdowns echoed actions decades ago against a much larger protest movement protesting the Vietnam War.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, on Wednesday said: "The violence unfolding this evening at UCLA is absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable."

The LAPD said that at the request of the university, due to "multiple acts of violence within the large encampment on their campus", officers had been sent to assist UCLA PD and other law enforcement.

Meanwhile, protest encampments at other schools across the US have been cleared by police, resulting in more arrests, or closed voluntarily.

But University of Minnesota officials reached an agreement with protesters not to disrupt commencements, and similar compromises have been made at Northwestern University in suburban Chicago, Rutgers University in New Jersey and Brown University in Rhode Island.

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