California/Gaza  -  Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities showed no sign of slowing as they spread coast-to-coast over the weekend and police crackdowns and arrests continued into another week while students vowed to stay in tent encampments until their demands are met.

The students’ demands range from a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas to calls for universities to stop investing in Israeli enterprises involved with the country’s military to an end for U.S. military assistance for Israel.

Pro-Palestinian protests have spread to college campuses across the US, stoked by the mass arrest of over 100 people on Columbia University’s campus more than a week ago.

The Columbia campus was peaceful on Saturday and there were no reports of arrests of disturbances overnight, a school spokesman said.

But crackdowns continued at a handful of campuses on Saturday including a lockdown at the University of Southern California (USC) and a heavy police presence. More than 200 people were arrested at a handful of schools including 80 late on Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis. Among those arrested at Washington University was 2024 Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein.

“They are sending in the riot police and basically creating a riot in an otherwise peaceful demonstration. So this is just shameful,” Stein said in a statement.

Washington University said in a statement that those arrested would be charged with trespassing.

On Sunday, dueling demonstrations were set to begin at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Outside groups were planning to demonstrate in favor of and against the pro-Palestinian encampments.

Members of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice planned to support students’ right to protest.

In opposition, however, a group called Stand With Us will hold a “Stand in Support of Jewish Students” rally to “stand up against hatred and antisemitism.”

The nationwide protests have caught the attention of President Joe Biden.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told mdia on Sunday that the president knows there are very strong feelings about the war in Gaza.

“He understands that, he respects that and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right of peaceful protest,” Kirby said. “People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly, but it has to be peaceful.”

Kirby added that the president condemns antisemitism and condemns hate speech.

At USC, leadership has cancelled the main commencement ceremony after it called off the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who said she was silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Sunday she believed that cancelling the commencement was a decision “they had to make.”

“They were expecting about 65,000 people on campus, and they just did not feel that it was going to be safe,” Bass said.”

Hundreds of thousands of people joined a pro-Palestine march in central London on Saturday to show their support for the people of Palestine and demand an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Waving flags, drumming and chanting loud slogans, organisers from the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign said they were expecting hundreds of thousands of people to join the rally. The protesters voiced their anger with what happening in Gaza.

At least 34,454 Palestinians have been martyred and 77,575 others wounded in Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the health ministry in the besieged enclave.

The ministry further said that some 66 more martyred and 138 others wounded over the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya has said the group was reviewing a new Israeli truce proposal, as Israel’s foreign minister said a planned incursion of Rafah would be “suspended” if a hostage deal is secured.

World Central Kitchen (WCK) said it would resume operations in the Gaza Strip on Monday, a month after seven workers of the US-based charity were killed in an Israeli air strike.

A Hamas delegation will visit Cairo on Monday for talks aimed at securing a ceasefire, a Hamas official told Reuters on Sunday, as mediators stepped up efforts to reach a deal ahead of an Israeli assault on the southern city of Rafah.