NEW YORK — Dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested Wednesday evening after occupying part of Columbia University's Butler Library, an escalation of campus tensions tied to the Israel-Gaza conflict. The protesters, many wearing masks and kaffiyehs, breached a security gate shortly after 3 p.m. and took over the second floor of the library's main room, renaming it "the Basel Al-Araj Popular University," according to witnesses and the demonstrators' statements.
The occupation, which disrupted students studying for final exams, appeared to be an attempt to reignite the protest movement that gripped Columbia's campus last spring. "Free, free Palestine," and "Free, free, free Palestine," chanted the protesters, with some also shouting, "Let them go, let them go, let them go," as reported by The New York Times. Banners were hung in the library's soaring main room, and clashes with public safety officers ensued.
