麻豆约拍

University students in the US have been calling for their colleges to divest from firms that support Israel's military campaign in Gaza. They have also been calling for a ceasefire in the region.

Protests started at Columbia University in New York, and have since spread to campuses across the United States.

In the last fortnight, a nationwide uprising has emerged which university officials and law enforcement have struggled to contain. They have blamed outside groups for infiltrating the demonstrations.

The movement seems to have been emboldened by the arrest of more than 100 protesters at Columbia after police were called to clear an encampment.

Hundreds of people have since been arrested in locations across the US - many of whom had pitched their own tents on university grounds.

Columbia University has begun suspending students who failed to dismantle a long-running pro-Palestinian campus protest.

Yasmeen Altaji, a postgraduate student in politics at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism says the students' goal "is to get the university to disclose their investments and divest from Israel". She said students wanted to continue their protest "as long as it takes".

(Image: Student demonstrators occupy the pro-Palestinian "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on the West Lawn of Columbia University on April 24, 2024 in New York City. Credit: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)

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