LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. universities on Wednesday saw pro-Palestinian protesters gather at campus gates for demonstrations marking three years since the war in Gaza began.
Dozens of protesters gathered Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), chanting slogans including "Stop the genocide" and "Free Palestine."
Organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the demonstration featured banners reading "Gaza will rise" and placards bearing the message "We will honor all our martyrs."
Verbal altercations broke out between some demonstrators and pro-Israel counterprotesters.
"We're here protesting to commemorate and honor the resistance of the Palestinian people on Oct. 7," a student protester told Xinhua, saying the anniversary marked "three years of escalated genocide in Palestine."
The student, who requested anonymity, said the SJP wanted UCLA to divest, or withdraw investments, from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.
"That's why we want our university to cut all ties to Israel and stop profiting off of the genocide," the student said, adding that the SJP also demanded an end to campus policing and surveillance, and disclosure of the university's ties with Israel.
Outside California, pro-Palestinian protests also erupted in several cities across the United States.
In Seattle, dozens of demonstrators marched through the Capitol Hill neighborhood and onto the Seattle Central College campus Wednesday afternoon, reports said.
On the East Coast, more than 100 people gathered at Washington Square Park to demand New York University withdraw investments from Israel and shutter its Tel Aviv campus, the New York Post reported.
Over 70 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Columbia University's gates the same day, according to the Columbia Daily Spectator. The student newspaper reported that the protest was also organized by the SJP, with participants later joining a citywide demonstration.
Hundreds marched near City Hall in New York City's Lower Manhattan, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting "Free Palestine" and "Long Live Palestine," local news outlet amNewYork reported.
In Philadelphia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched from 18th and Walnut streets near Rittenhouse Square toward the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia television station NBC10 reported. ■
