In the United States, police have arrested 282 students protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza in a raid on New York’s Columbia University and the City College of New York as local authorities paint the crackdown on protesters as a necessity.<<<cOLOMBIA 1>>

Jewish Voice for Peace has condemned the New York Police Department’s actions against protesting students.A Palestinian solidarity encampment at the University of California campus in Los Angeles has been attacked by pro-Israel counterprotesters, and classes have been cancelled.

University of South Florida police say 10 people have been taken into custody after protests on campus.Tulane University Police Department in New Orleans, Louisiana, says at least 14 protesters, including two Tulane students, have been arrested in connection with protests.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory,  says she has been “horrified by the violent actions of police at US universities smashing protests against an ongoing genocide perpetrated by a foreign country”.

In South Africa, unions have linked Workers’ Day commemorations to a march in solidarity with Palestinians. Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the growing demonstrations are proof that Gaza is the world’s “first issue”.Campaigners in London have protested outside the Department for Business and Trade, calling on the UK government to halt arms supplies to Israel.