Rival Gaza protest groups clash on LA campus

Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters person clashed astatine the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) arsenic demonstrations implicit the warfare successful Gaza proceed crossed US campuses.

Nationwide rallies - during which determination person been hundreds of arrests - showed nary motion of stopping implicit the weekend.

At UCLA "physical altercations broke out" aft a obstruction separating the 2 sides was breached, an authoritative said.

The White House has insisted that demonstrations indispensable stay peaceful.

The US authorities respected the close of protesters demonstrating implicit the Israel-Gaza war, a National Security Council spokesperson told ABC.

But it repeated its condemnation of antisemitic incidents that person been reported, arsenic good arsenic "all the hatred code and the threats of unit retired there", John Kirby told ABC connected Sunday.

At UCLA, a pro-Palestinian encampment has grown successful size successful caller days, arsenic has a radical of pro-Israeli counter-protesters.

The Israeli American Council (IAC) organised the counter-protest. It precocious said it had "profound concern" implicit the antisemitism reported elsewhere, including astatine Columbia University.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters person sought to region themselves from antisemitic incidents and successful immoderate cases they person blamed extracurricular agitators.

The 2 groups astatine UCLA remained peaceful until Sunday, Reuters quality bureau reported, erstwhile field constabulary with batons separated them arsenic they pushed and shoved each other, and traded punches.

It was not instantly wide which radical broke done the obstruction that separated them.

"We are heartbroken astir the unit that broke out," the assemblage said, adding that further information measures had been introduced successful response.

Tensions flared astatine US universities aft the 7 October Hamas attack, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed successful Israel, and the retaliatory Israeli subject battle that has killed much than 34,000 radical successful Gaza.

In the past fortnight, a nationwide uprising has emerged which assemblage officials and instrumentality enforcement person struggled to contain. They person blamed extracurricular groups for infiltrating the demos.

The question seems to person been emboldened by the apprehension of much than 100 protesters astatine Columbia University successful New York City aft constabulary were called to wide an encampment.

Hundreds of radical person since been arrested successful locations crossed the US from seashore to seashore - galore of whom had pitched their ain tents connected assemblage grounds.

Protesters are demanding a ceasefire successful the conflict, and that their universities - galore with monolithic endowments - chopped their fiscal ties, oregon divest, from Israel.

They accidental that companies doing concern successful oregon with the federation of Israel are complicit successful its ongoing warfare connected Gaza - and truthful are the institutions that put successful those companies.

Officials person besides scrambled to tackle alleged incidents of antisemitism, with a fig of Jewish students voicing fears for their safety.

At respective campuses, they person spoken of incidents ranging from chants and signs supporting Hamas - a proscribed panic radical successful the US - to carnal altercations and perceived threats.

Northeastern University successful Boston, Massachusetts, reported "virulent antisemitic slurs" successful a connection connected Saturday that accused "professional organisers with nary affiliation to Northeastern" of infiltrating a pupil protest.

More than 100 radical were detained, it added.

In different caller developments: