The police used rubber bullets and tear gas against pro-Palestinian demonstrators in the US state of Georgia, including at Emory University in Decatur. The students protesting in favor of Palestine set up a tent camp on the university campus, which was violently cleared by the police and several protesters were detained, the BBC reports.
On the grounds of Emory University, students are protesting “genocide by American imperialism,” demanding that Americans fully divest from what they describe as apartheid Israel. In addition, they also protested the construction of a police and fire training center near Atlanta, nicknamed Cop City.
According to the protesters, it is wrong that while more than 1,100 Israelis died in the Hamas attack on October 7 last year, at least 34,000 Palestinians, including 13,000 children, have lost their lives in the Israeli attacks launched since then. Besides them, more than two million have been forced to flee their homes or are exposed to famine and the ravages of war.
Protesters at Emory University – Photo: Elijah Nouvelage /AFP
After the protesters set up their tents on Emory’s campus, university and city police officers showed up and began rounding up unruly protesters. According to some news reports, tear gas was used to break up the demonstration. University teachers are among those produced.
Emory University has condemned what it says are completely unacceptable and violent protests. In the United States, pro-Palestinian protests began last week at Columbia University in New York and have since spread to many campuses across the country.
The demonstrations also have a domestic political aspect, the protesters condemn that Joe Biden’s government continues to support Israel. The pro-Palestinian left wing of the Democratic Party, on the other hand, supports the protesters and opposes police intervention.
