LAPD action at University of California, Los Angeles marks latest flashpoint in mounting tensions on US college campuses. Plus, Arizona senate passes repeal of 1864 abortion ban
Good morning.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers breached a Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles campus on Thursday morning, removing barricades and threatening students with arrest.
LAPD officers in tactical gear filed on to the UCLA campus around sunset on Wednesday and began to force their way into the encampment at about 3.1am PDT. They were met with about 300 to 500 protesters in the encampment – and another 2,000 people gathered outside the barricades in support – who shouted “shame on you”.
It is the latest crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters demanding universities divest from companies linked to Israel’s war effort in Gaza, and comes amid ongoing fallout from events on Tuesday, when counter-demonstrators attacked the UCLA encampment.
Meanwhile in Gaza, a senior Hamas official told AFP overnight that its response to a proposed truce deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar was “negative”, but that discussions were still taking place.Arizona senate passes repeal of ‘inhumane’ near-total abortion ban from 1864
Arizona lawmakers have repealed the state’s 160-year-old statute banning nearly all abortions.
The 1864 law, which was reinstated by the state supreme court three weeks ago, has made abortion a central focus in the battleground state and galvanized Democrats seeking to enshrine abortion rights.
