Police arrest pro-Palestinian protesters in Penn – NBC10 Philadelphia

Philadelphia police arrest and remove pro-Palestinian protesters while dismantling their encampment that has been on the University of Pennsylvania campus for more than two weeks.

Officers moved in in the early hours before dawn on Friday, May 10, 2024, following overnight rain. NBC10 was on the scene live just before 6 a.m. when police gave protesters a two-minute warning to leave campus or face possible arrest.

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The officers then moved forward, formed a semicircle around the camp and dismantled several tents. While some of the protesters left, dozens remained in front of the Ben Franklin statue on Penn’s College Green, refusing to move as they chanted.

Officers then began arresting and forcibly removing some protesters, many of whom were wearing keffiyehs, a scarf that symbolizes Palestinian nationalism.

According to the University of Pennsylvania, the incident occurred on the 16th day of the encampment and one day after six students were forced into “mandatory temporary leave of absence” for their participation in the protest.

“Today, in accordance with our policies and pending the results of the Center for Community Standards and Accountability’s disciplinary investigations, the University issued a mandatory temporary leave of absence for six students. These actions are the result of the university’s ongoing response to the unauthorized encampment at the college. Green,” the school said in a statement on its website Thursday.

A spokesman for the camp described the actions as “suspensions” when speaking to NBC10.

One of the groups involved in the encampment, the Philly Palestine Coalition, released a statement banning the students from campus, saying that two of them were on the negotiating committee and had met with President Larry Jameson and Provost John Jackson.

The statement goes on to say that a student lives on campus and has been locked out of her dorm room, leaving her unable to access her belongings.

“We vehemently reject the designation of students organizing in the Gaza Solidarity Encamp as an ‘extraordinary threat’ to campus security,” the organization’s statement said.

Three of the students, including the one who was barred from their dormitory, reacted to the mandatory leave of absence while speaking to reporters on Thursday.

“The university cannot ignore us forever. She knows what they are doing is wrong and that they need to take action,” junior Sonya Stacia said.

While speaking at an event in Westmoreland County on Thursday, Gov. Josh Shapiro weighed in on the situation, saying it was “time for the university to act, address the problem, dismantle the encampment and restore order and safety to the campus.” .

The protest is one of many that have taken place at universities across the country in recent weeks as many have called for a ceasefire in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

The protesters, who include students from UPenn as well as Drexel and Temple universities, have also called on their schools to withdraw all financial support from Israel.

Divestment usually refers to the sale of shares in companies that do business with a particular country. Divestment has long been a goal of a movement to limit what it sees as Israel’s hostile operations and to end the expansion of what the United Nations says are illegal settlements in Palestinian territory.

Now higher education protesters hope to force their universities to divest in order to put financial pressure on companies doing business in Israel to achieve both of these goals.

The protesters told NBC10 they also wanted to ensure peace, but they would not leave until the university met their demands.