UPDATE - US police disperse pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University

ADDS MORE DETAILS; CHANGES DECK

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US police on early Wednesday dispersed a pro-Palestine tent encampment at the George Washington University.

According to a statement by Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, DC, several arrests were also made during the police dispersal.

MPD chief Pamela Smith confirmed during a press conference along with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser that 33 protesters were arrested.

Smith said the demonstrations, which initially began peacefully, had recently turned violent, prompting their decision to intervene.

Police officers began clearing the gathering at around 3 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) after the protesters were given multiple warnings to clear the encampment.

The encampment lasted two weeks, during which students from George Washington University and several others gathered at the campus' U-Yard on April 25 and demanded their schools to divest from Israel.

Some protesters were pepper sprayed, according to footage on social media.

The dispersal also came hours ahead of Bowser and Smith's planned testimonies before a hearing by House Committee on Oversight and Accountability on the US capital's handling of the protest.

Chairman of the Committee James Comer later announced that the hearing was canceled following the police "finally clearing out the unlawful encampment" on the university's campus.

Pro-Palestine college campus protests have been persistent since April 17, when students at New York’s Columbia University launched an encampment in solidarity with Gaza and demanded that their school divest from Israel.