Pro-Palestinian protests resume at Columbia University

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Protests in solidarity with Palestine resumed Tuesday at Columbia University in New York City on the first day of the fall semester.

Demonstrators are demanding the university sever ties with Israel because of the conflict in the Gaza Strip and for Tel Aviv to halt its attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine wrote on X that the university is involved “in genocide."

"We refuse to live in a world where the mass murder of Palestinians is normal, acceptable, and profitable. Columbia University is complicit in genocide. Their investments in weapons manufacturers & defense contractors, companies such as Lockheed Martin, are fueling the genocide," said the group.

In a subsequent post, the group vowed further demonstrations, labeling the recent protest as just the beginning.

"As we begin our new semester, students in Gaza have no universities to return to. Instead of listening to the student body, Columbia University is doubling down. We will not stop & we will not rest until @Columbia divests from apartheid and genocide. This is just the beginning," it added.

Pro-Palestine student protests erupted on US campuses April 17, when police arrested students at Columbia University during demonstrations.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following an attack on Oct. 7 by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,800 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 94,300 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.​​​​​​​

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.