NYU students stage walkout following violent anti-Israel protests

A group called the NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition led New York University students to walk out of classes Tuesday following violent anti-Israel protests that unfolded there last night.

Students and others gathered in Washington Square Park in Manhattan “to reflect, debrief [and] strategize,” the group said.

Anti-Israel protests at New York University’s campus turned violent Monday night when demonstrators hurled bottles at police officers who were sent to the scene to disperse a large unruly crowd, officials said.

NYPD sources confirmed to Fox News on Tuesday that 133 demonstrators were arrested by police using zip ties and flex cuffs to remove the protesters from campus. They were taken on a bus to police headquarters, where they were charged with trespassing, the sources added.

LIVE UPDATES: ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES

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Workers set up a wooden barrier in Gould Plaza at the New York University Stern School of Business on Tuesday after an encampment set up by NYU students was cleared out Monday night and at least two dozen protesters were arrested. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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The students joined a growing number of college campuses throughout the country where student protesters are setting up tent encampments on school grounds to call for a cease-fire in Gaza and for their schools to divest from Israeli companies. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

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A police officer stands by as workers set up a wooden barrier in Gould Plaza at the New York University Stern School of Business on Tuesday after an encampment set up by NYU students was cleared out Monday night and at least two dozen protesters were arrested. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

The NYU Palestine Solidarity Coalition said in an Instagram post that NYU students in their group set up a “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on Monday.

The group is demanding to “end all war profiteering and investment in genocide,” a “complete academic boycott of Israel,” the removal of NYPD on campus and that NYU “must protect free speech on campus and provide full amnesty to all students and faculty penalized for their pro-Palestinian activism.”

They said the arrests last night were “violent” but “the violence we faced is only a fraction of the violence that Palestinians face on the ground every day.”

NYU did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital regarding the walkout.

ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS HURL BOTTLES AT NYPD, FORM HUMAN CHAIN DURING MASS ARRESTS

NYPD officers take down a tent encampment as anti-Israel agitators stage a demonstration outside of NYU’s Stern School of Business in Manhattan, New York City on April 22, 2024. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Mass arrests began around 8:30 p.m. Monday after a protest spread to the plaza in front of the business school. The university released a statement explaining that while it supports students’ rights to protest, safety remains its priority.

“The University was deeply disturbed when, early this afternoon, additional protesters, many of whom we believe were not affiliated with NYU, suddenly breached the barriers that had been put in place at the north side of the plaza and joined the others already on the plaza,” NYU spokesperson John Beckman said.

“This breach was in violation of directions from Campus Safety Officers and in violation of multiple university rules,” he added.

The NYPD arrests student protesters on the NYU campus on Monday. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

Earlier, anti-Israel protesters had formed a human chain as police moved in to break up the demonstration.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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