Anti-war protests continued at more than 30 American universities and colleges amid growing dissatisfaction with the police response.

The latest Associated Press figure reported that more than 2,000 people had been arrested across the country.

More than 200 people were arrested on Thursday at a pro-Palestinian protest camp on the UCLA campus, after they refused to obey orders to leave the area.

At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, the authorities declared the gathering illegal and ordered the demonstrators to leave. The university said any students who remain at the camp could face disciplinary action, up to expulsion, while staff could face dismissal.

After a confrontation that lasted about nine hours, hundreds of riot police began carrying out arrest operations.

Since the arrest of more than 100 students protesting at Columbia University on April 18, several American universities have seen similar protests, with students demanding that universities divest from companies linked to Israel and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Strict and sometimes violent police intervention has led to clashes and widespread dissatisfaction with their treatment.

In some states, such as Florida, police used tear gas to disperse gatherings on campus.

Earlier this week, a law enforcement officer while participating in dispersing protesters fired his weapon inside an office building at Columbia University, the Associated Press quoted Doug Cohen, spokesman for Attorney General Alvin Bragg's office, as saying. Thursday. No injuries were reported.

Steve Tamari, a history professor specializing in Middle Eastern studies at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville, said he was arrested during a protest at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he suffered nine broken ribs and a broken hand.

The Middle East Research and Information Project, an academic organization, expressed in a statement issued on Wednesday its feeling of “horror and anger after learning of the attacks and arrests,” noting that “police violence against peaceful protesters on university campuses has become a disturbing trend in the past two weeks.”

“We condemn police brutality and the militarization of universities by institutional leaders,” the statement read.

In response to the recent widespread protests at universities, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday in a brief speech that he supports peaceful protests, but acts of vandalism, violence, hate speech, and other chaos have nothing to do with peaceful protests. "Opposition should never lead to chaos," he said.

When asked whether protests on American universities might make him rethink his policy in the Middle East, Biden replied: “No.”

The wave of anti-war protests on campuses that has been going on for several days actually represents a form of dissatisfaction among American youth with the way the Biden administration is managing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A recent poll conducted by CNN found that 71 percent of American adults surveyed were dissatisfied with the Biden administration's handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Among those under 35, 81 percent were dissatisfied.