ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE

Friday, 26^th April, 2024

                          By Adejide

It is terrifying to see the number of deaths and casualties suffered by Palestinians daily from Israeli bombardment. Every nook and cranny around every corner of Gaza have been turned upside down including hospitals and mosques. There is no hiding place for the children and women to take a cover. Watching parents bury, mourn and bid farewell to their dying children is heartbreaking for the world to hold. For this reason, students can’t help but vent their anger through demonstrations across the globe.

Columbia University President , Minouche Shafik

Encampments are growing bigger in United States, France, Australia, and Italy on a daily and begins to cause unrest in prestigious universities. The United States have been shocked earlier this week with anti-Israel demonstration in New York University and Columbia University. This led to arrests of protesters and classes being remote or virtual.  At Northwestern University, students began encampment as they asked the school to protect activists and end relationships with Israel institutions.

Apparently, anti-Israel protest isn’t going to end soon with student’s reportedly gathering encampment with a unified demand of their schools stop doing business with Israel or company that supports its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

Palestinian father mourns the death of his daughter

Tents are also been mounted at George Washington University in Washington, DC. It occupies a group of protesters screaming “it is our right to rebel, divest now or go to hell” this is, as a result, of evacuation threatened by the police. On Wednesday, dozens of students also gathered on Central Parks Campus of the Sciences Po University. Most of them left after discussions with the management but few had to be evacuated by the police. They also demanded that the University should cut ties with companies that support the genocide in Gaza. Students in Italy and Australia are also gathering encampment. Hence, this appears as a tip of a wider wave.

A group of students protesting against the war in Gaza

However, authorities intervene to suppress the tensions in campuses. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called on Tuesday for Pro-Palestine encampment to be removed and setting deadline for students to end protest. Police broke up Anti-Israel students protests at Paris University. In Northwestern University encampment, security operatives threatened to disperse protesters. The US government also makes move to ban TikTok in-order to cut off the reach of information to young people.

Columbia University protest

Amidst all these, amid all this, IDF is on the verge of extending operation into Gaza’s Rafah. They are only waiting for approval from the Israeli government after their meeting with Egypt. The Israel government organised meeting with Egypt authorities to discuss national interests before the operation.

What is your take about the ongoing students’ protest?

Public Domain photos

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