Biden says Palestine protests have not caused Middle East policy reconsiderations

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden said Thursday that ongoing student-led demonstrations against Israel's war on Gaza have not brought him to reconsider how he is addressing the region.

Asked by a reporter if the demonstrations on campuses nationwide have forced him to rethink his Middle East policy, the president said succinctly: "No."

The brief remark came at the tail-end of an unscheduled speech at the White House in which Biden commented on the demonstrations, saying the US is "not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent."

"The American people are heard, in fact, peaceful protest is in the best tradition of how Americans respond to consequential issues. But neither are we a lawless country. We're a civil society, and order must prevail," he said.

"Violent protest is not protected. Peaceful protest is. It's against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It's against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations. None of this is a peaceful protest," he added.

"Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must never lead to disorder or to denying the rights of others," Biden said.

The comments came after a wave of crackdowns on college campuses that led to hundreds of pro-Palestinian students being taken into custody.

Overnight Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), police, including some who were heavily armored, dismantled an encampment established by students, removing barricades and forcibly clearing protesters, including by firing less lethal weapons, and what appeared in video footage to be flash-bangs.

Over 130 people were arrested, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

The police action came a day after a pro-Israel group violently attacked the student encampment, attempting to tear it down while throwing fireworks into the crowd, and engaging in repeated melees with protesters as police failed to intervene for about three hours.

UCLA is launching an independent investigation into the events of Tuesday night that includes its own actions as well as those of law enforcement, according to the Times.

Nationwide demonstrations gained momentum last month after Columbia University asked the New York Police Department to forcibly evict a group of students who staged an encampment on a campus lawn. Over 100 people were arrested, but the protesters quickly adapted and formed another sit-in.

They were forcibly removed on Tuesday night by police from that site, as well as a building they occupied.

The school has asked police to remain on campus until the day after its graduations conclude.

Asked if the National Guard should be sent in to break up the demonstrations on campuses across the nation, Biden said: "No."