Activists say UCLA Palestine encampment assault followed days of harassment

Pro-Palestine activists say dozens were injured when pro-Israel demonstrators attacked the California college encampment.

Los Angeles, California – At the entrance of the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on Wednesday, events proceed in an orderly and quiet fashion, save for the constant buzz of a police helicopter hovering overhead.

Those wishing to enter formed a queue, and organisers instructed them on the ground rules: Don’t engage with police or journalists. Ignore the counter-protesters. Don’t litter. No smoking or drinking.

But despite the relative calm, tensions were high. Just hours earlier, during the night, a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters had attacked the encampment, tearing down barricades and assaulting protesters with metal pipes, mace and pepper spray. Fireworks were also fired into the encampment.

Classes at UCLA were cancelled on Wednesday, and the administration released a statement condemning the “horrific acts of violence” against the encampment, which was erected in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Anna, a spokesperson for the encampment who declined to offer her last name, said dozens of pro-Palestine protesters were injured or pepper-sprayed in the attack, which lasted from late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday morning.