Similar to the events of George Floyd, 900 demonstrators were arrested during the American university protests

The Washington Post said that its statistics indicate that at least 900 demonstrators were arrested in American university protests during the past 10 days, as the protesters oppose the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and demand a ceasefire.

The American newspaper The Washington Post said that its statistics indicate that at least 900 demonstrators were arrested in American university protests during the past 10 days.

The newspaper reported in a report yesterday (Sunday) that controlling protests demanding an end to the Israeli war on Gaza at American universities brought a new set of challenges to the authorities.

According to the newspaper, the massive demonstrations at universities ranged between peaceful sit-ins and confrontations with opposition demonstrators, as police officers used some of the same tools and tactics used to suppress riots and demonstrations four years ago, when thousands marched in the streets of American cities after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd.

The campus arrests began on April 18, when Columbia University President Nemat Shafik wrote a letter to the New York Police asking for help in evacuating student demonstrators.

The decision led to the arrest of more than 100 people on the Manhattan campus, and inspired new waves of protests across the country.

There was no sign of a wave of protests on American universities over the weekend, despite police arresting more protesters on university campuses and brief skirmishes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of California, where students set up a sit-in tent last week.

The protesters oppose the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip and demand a ceasefire in the war waged by Israel against Gaza, in addition to demanding that universities stop investing in Israeli companies that deal with the occupying army and end American military aid to Israel.

As the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA has grown in size in recent days, counter-protesters have become more vocal and visible on campus, although both sides have remained peaceful until Monday.

Over the past two weeks, pro-Palestinian protests have spread to college campuses across the United States, sparked by the mass arrest of more than 100 people at Columbia University more than a week ago.

Since then, hundreds of protesters from California and Texas to Atlanta and Boston have been arrested while emulating the camps used by Columbia University students to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Officials, including those at Columbia University, said that, as unauthorized, the protests violate university rules, disrupt learning and promote harassment and anti-Semitism.

More than 200 people were arrested at some universities, including Washington University in St. Louis.

“They are sending in security forces and rioting a peaceful protest, so this is shameful,” Jill Stein, one of those detained at the University of Washington and a presidential candidate for the Green Party, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, protests across the United States have caught the attention of President Joe Biden.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC News on Sunday that the president knows there are very strong feelings about the war in Gaza.

He added: "He understands that and respects that, and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right to peaceful protest. People should have the ability to express their opinions and share their views publicly, but it should be peaceful."

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces have been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them children and women, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure, which led to Tel Aviv appearing before the International Court of Justice on charges of "Genocide".