Two arrested during pro-Palestinian protest on University of Houston campus

HOUSTON (KIAH) – Two people were arrested Wednesday morning after University of Houston police demolished a pro-Palestinian encampment set up by students on the main campus overnight.

Tensions escalated when University of Houston police, Texas Southern University police, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Houston police demolished an encampment set up by protesters around 4 a.m. morning Monday morning. The encampment, which in recent weeks had become a symbol of student activism, was dismantled amid protests by demonstrators.

In a video exclusive to CW39, protesters marched toward UH police headquarters when police intervened, arresting two individuals on the spot. A student liaison representing the protesters made a statement at the scene as law enforcement took action. Police did not issue a statement at the scene. At this time, it is not known whether the two people have been charged.

“Reyna,” a media liaison for Students for Justice in Palestine, told CW39 that they set up the camp Monday morning “to pressure the university to divest from drug manufacturers.” weapons.” She also said a meeting should be scheduled for next week, during which protesters plan to air their grievances and demands.

The group sent a statement saying it created the camp as “a base for basic political education and for the development of the Palestinian liberation struggle on and off campus.”

The UH protest mirrors other types of demonstrations against the war between Israel and Hamas at the University of Texas at Austin, Columbia University in New York and others across the county. The same day, 33 people were arrested at George Washington University in Washington DC as police cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.