Hamas

Police have arrested nearly 2,200 people during pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses across the United States in recent weeks, sometimes using riot gear, tactical vehicles and flash-bang devices to clear tent encampments and occupied buildings. One officer accidentally discharged his gun inside a Columbia University administration building while clearing out protesters camped inside, authorities said.

A judge released eight of nine pro-Palestinian protesters from jail early Tuesday after their arrest on the University of Florida campus on Monday. A ninth protester, identified as a UF student, remained jailed facing a felony battery charge related to his arrest.Allan Hektor Frasheri, 20, a philosophy major from Dunedin, Florida, was accused of spitting on a campus police officer during the arrests Monday night. He was being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond. Police and state troopers arrested the nine in a move coordinated with the university administration.

Police supported by state troopers arrested nine pro-Palestinian protesters late Monday who had occupied a plaza on the University of Florida for days. They were among the first college arrests in Florida.University police Sgt. Courtney Marie Burgoyne said officers arrested nine protesters, who were led away in handcuffs. At least seven of the nine were current or former UF students, according to university records. One was facing a felony charge. It followed the arrest of three other protesters at the University of South Florida in Tampa hours earlier.

The Solidarity with Israel Coalition held a rally at the corner of Airport-Pulling Road and Pine Ridge Road on Thursday, April 25.Many held signs with the names and photos of Israelis that were taken hostage.

The University of Florida threatened pro-Palestinian student demonstrators with suspension and banishment from campus for three years if they violate a host of rules of behavior over protests that continued for a third day Friday.The university said employees or professors caught breaking its rules would be fired.

In the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict, a group of FGCU students has taken a stand to support the people of Gaza. FGCU For Palestine was founded last October following the thousands of Palestinian deaths after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel’s Gaza settlements that killed over a thousand Israelis and took hundreds hostage.It started when a member of the Biden administration doubted the Palestinian death count released by the Gaza Ministry of Health. A few people started reading the names of the killed Palestinians on FGCU’s library lawn, but the death toll became too large to share every casualty.

As Israel’s war with Hamas grinds toward the half-year mark, noted journalist and syndicated columnist J.J. Goldberg shared an overview of the conflict’s historic and geopolitical roots before an overflow local crowd at the Jewish Federation of Greater Naples’ annual Day of Learning.More than 250 attendees filled the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center’s Schiff Hall for the ninth annual event, which explores topical issues through a Jewish lens. The session on Monday, March 11 was co-hosted by the Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council and its Israel and Overseas Committee.

A federal judge ruled Wednesday against chapters of pro-Palestinian college student groups in Florida, backing the DeSantis administration and leaving the door open to possible action against the groups — although that appears unlikely.U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied a request for a preliminary injunction by chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Florida and the University of South Florida that would have protected the groups.

A federal judge on Friday criticized Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state's senior higher education appointee for "running their mouths" with directives for two universities in Florida to shut down chapters of pro-Palestinian student organizations.The judge did not immediately issue a protective order covering the chapters of the Students for Justice in Palestine as they had asked.

“Free, Free Palestine” was chanted as a few dozen people marched on downtown Fort Myers Saturday evening in solidarity with the Palestinian People. Their route wound around the downtown streets before returning to the Library at sunset for Maghrib prayer.