Pro-Palestinian protests at universities in the United States have resulted in approximately 600 student arrests at 15 college campuses across the country.

Most of the arrests have occurred at encampments and sit-in demonstrations, with students demanding their universities divest from Israeli businesses and cut ties with universities in Israel in opposition to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The wave of protests began at Columbia University on April 17 following the testimony of university president Minouche Shafik before the House Education and Workforce Committee. 

Shafik, during her testimony, appeared somewhat aligned with Republican legislators who have consistently decried pro-Palestininan protests as threatening the safety of Jewish students on campus following the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas. 

When a student sit-in popped up on her campus on April 18, Shafik called on the New York Police Department to disband the encampment.

Since then, over 50 student protests have been identified across the country. Arrests of students have occurred in California, Minnesota, Colorado, Indiana, and other states.

Protests at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday resulted in a heavy police presence and more than a dozen arrests after a class walk-out led to an all-day protest on the campus.

Chants from students at the protest included “off our campus,” “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and “Israel, Israel, what do you say? How many Gazans did you kill today?”

Protests at George Washington University this week have served as a convergence point for various universities in the Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area, with students from Georgetown University, American University, University of Maryland, and George Mason University in attendance. 

As of Saturday morning, no arrests had been made at the GW protest.

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Certain protests, including those at Columbia and GW, have attracted participation from individuals in the local community not affiliated with the universities, sparking concern for general student safety among school administrators.

Several pro-Palestinian groups supporting the student protests, including American Muslims for Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, have financial ties to progressive organizations, such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and far-left George Soros’s Open Society Network.