Washington threatened today to deport some 80 students of Columbia University who had staged a pro- Palestinian protest on campus. They were all detained after being arrested.
The students were protesting the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank in Palestine.
The protests had been predicated on America’s unconditional support of the Israeli military campaign which had led to the death of some 61,000 persons, mainly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry which is run by Hamas.
Israel launched its high heel military campaign after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that led, by Israeli government’s official acknowledgement, to the killing of about 1,200 Israeli soldiers and policemen, and the abduction of nearly 400 others.
However, the Israeli response, now in the 18th month, has drawn public angst around the world on account of its severity and disproportionate use of force.
Israel has been deploying heavy duty bunker bursting bombs , high tech drones, heavy artillery fire and missiles, much of them from America.
Public angst against Israel, aside from the United Nations, has been expressed in public protests across the world.
In America, the student population has been most active in the protests, with, Columbia University as the epicentre.
It was in the course of today’s protests at the university that about 80 of the students were arrested as they allegedly attempted to access the library of the school.
Those arrested were later detained by authorities, though it remained unclear the nature of charges to be preferred against them in court.
However, Michael Rubio, the American Secretary of State, later hinted at their possible deportation, insisting that the status of their visas needed to be reviewed.
The Trump administration has been highly critical of pro- Palestinian protesters, labelling them terrorists.
