Yesterday, Wednesday, a group of dozens of Israeli supporters at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), attacked students who support the Palestinian cause stationed in a “protest camp” in the middle of the university campus, and beat them with sticks, chairs, and other objects, after they broke the wooden barriers that It was built by students demanding a ceasefire, under the watchful eye of the Los Angeles Police and University Police, who only intervened when the pro-Palestinian demonstrators began to defend themselves, as they joined the pro-Israel supporters in suppressing the protesters. Clashes occurred between two rival groups of demonstrators on Wednesday, as the protest witnessed fistfights, shoving, kicking, and the use of sticks in an exchange of beatings.

One of the groups supporting the Israeli war of genocide on Gaza attacked a young Palestinian man, beat him with sticks and kicked him until the pro-Palestinian demonstrators were able to push them outside the barriers.

One of the demonstrators likened what is happening at California State University in Los Angeles to what is happening in the occupied territories when settlers attack Palestinians under the supervision of the Israeli occupation army.

It is noteworthy that hours earlier, police officers wearing riot shields stormed the Columbia University building in New York, occupied by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, through the windows late Tuesday, and arrested dozens of protesters.

Protesters took over the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, for more than 20 hours.

The wave of student protests has been escalating for two weeks in major American universities from California in the west to the northeastern states, passing through central and southern states such as Texas and Arizona, to protest the war in Gaza and to demand that their administrations cut ties with donors to Israel or companies linked to it.

The right to peaceful protest is a right guaranteed in the First Amendment of the US Constitution. This depends on whether the university is public or private, as government institutions are bound by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which protects freedom of expression.

Depending on where, when and how you protest, public universities can place some limits on protests, but they cannot restrict the views they express.

However, there are limited exceptions when it comes to threats against individuals or small groups or incitement to violence.

Private universities are not bound by the First Amendment, but their policies generally reflect principles related to freedom of expression.

All colleges impose limits on the “time, place and manner” of protests, to ensure students are able to attend classes, and these standards apply to everyone, whatever their views.

The list of conditions set by Columbia University includes prohibiting demonstrations inside university buildings, boycotting lectures, or erecting tents.

The conditions also include the need to ensure that demonstrations do not endanger the safety of others or disrupt the educational activities of students, and to provide advance notice of the date, place, and manner in which the demonstration will take place.

While most pro-Palestinian protests featured open-air encampments, the demonstrators' storming of a Columbia University building and controlling it for hours added another dimension to the protests.

Many protests on American universities have turned into camps, with protesters staying overnight in large groups in tents set up on campus, with Palestinian flags raised.

Almost all universities impose restrictions on students who camp overnight or install facilities on university property.

Columbia University, which saw the first protest tents appear earlier this month, began imposing suspensions on students who refused to leave the camp by the deadline last Monday.

While universities may be on solid ground legally to bring in police to break up protests, the question of whether this is the right move is up for debate.

Several universities, including Columbia, initially called the police and arrested dozens of students when tents first began to be set up before withdrawing and trying to negotiate with the protesters.

Other universities, such as the University of Texas at Austin, went further when police immediately launched a round of arrests last week after students walked out of their classrooms, sparking criticism that officials, including the governor of Texas, overreacted to peaceful demonstrations.