April, 12 2011, 11:22am EDT
Israel/Gaza: Protect Civilians From Attack
Hamas Targets School Bus, Israeli Attacks Kill Civilians, Injure Medics
JERUSALEM
The escalation of fighting between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza should not come at the expense of civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Attacks since April 7, 2011, by Hamas and Israeli forces appear to have targeted civilians or otherwise violated the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said. Hamas's armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli school bus on April 7 that wounded two people, while various Palestinian armed groups fired mortars and rockets deliberately or indiscriminately at Israeli population centers. Israeli attacks in Gaza on April 7 and 8 apparently targeted an ambulance, killed a mother and daughter in an indiscriminate attack, and killed and wounded other civilians in Gaza without taking adequate precautions to minimize civilian harm, Human Rights Watch said.
"Hamas's targeting a school bus is simply horrendous," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "But that is no justification for Israeli forces targeting ambulances or conducting indiscriminate attacks in Gaza. All civilians, Palestinian and Israeli, deserve protection from war."
Hamas's al-Qassam Brigades announced they were responsible for the attack on the Israeli school bus, which critically wounded a 16-year-old boy - the only passenger - and injured the bus driver. The bus was struck at 3 p.m. near the Sa'ad Junction, more than three kilometers from the Israeli perimeter fence around Gaza. Photographs published by news media showed extensive damage to the back of the yellow school bus, in which the windows were blown out. In a statement on its website, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed it had fired "mortars" and "targeted the bus" in reprisal for an Israeli attack that killed three Hamas fighters on April 5. Israeli officials said the bus was hit by an anti-tank missile. Human Rights Watch could not independently identify the weapon used. Anti-tank missiles typically require the operator to maintain visual contact with the target. In either case, the Hamas-affiliated fighters appeared to have deliberately fired at the school bus, a protected civilian object under the laws of war, in an act that amounts to a war crime. The al-Qassam Brigades and other Palestinian armed groups have claimed responsibility for numerous other mortar and rocket attacks since April 7. Some of the groups' statements claimed to have targeted Israeli military posts, but mortar shells struck Israeli civilian communities near the Gaza perimeter fence, and armed groups fired rockets at Israeli population centers, including the city of Ashkelon. Palestinian armed groups had fired more than 45 rockets and 100 mortar rounds at Israel so far in 2011, before April 7; since then, armed groups have fired around 120 rockets and mortar rounds, including more than a dozen Soviet-designed "Grad" rockets, according to Israeli and other sources. Indiscriminate or deliberate attacks on civilians are serious violations of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.
Since April 7, Israeli forces have struck the Gaza Strip with at least 30 air strikes and scores of tank shells, according to Israeli government and media reports, killing at least five civilians and eight members of Palestinian armed groups. Media reports did not identify all of the fatalities. The attacks reportedly wounded more than 40 Palestinians in Gaza, including an unknown number of civilians.
Human Rights Watch investigated the two incidents in which Israeli forces apparently targeted a Palestinian ambulance crew and conducted an indiscriminate attack that killed a mother and daughter, and two others in which Israeli strikes killed Palestinian civilians in apparent violation of the laws of war.
In the first incident, on April 7, an apparent Israeli missile attack injured an ambulance crew member and damaged an ambulance marked as such while the crew was evacuating two men who had been wounded in an Israeli strike. The attacks occurred near the non-operational Gaza Airport, in the southeastern corner of Gaza, east of the city of Rafah and close to the Egyptian border. Reliable independent security reports said that an Israeli tank had previously fired at the area, wounding two men, and that a helicopter later fired missiles at the area.
The ambulance driver, Musa Obayyed, 35, told Human Rights Watch that the crew received a call at around 5:45 p.m. to evacuate several wounded men from the area. Obayyed said that the area was not in the "buffer zone" near the perimeter fence, where medical crews need to coordinate access in advance by contacting the International Committee of the Red Cross, which then coordinates with the Israeli military.
"The sky was full of different kinds of military aircraft at the time, but we didn't hesitate, and the area was full of civilians when we arrived," he said. "We were several meters from an injured man and were just about to get out of the ambulance when an explosion hit next to us."
The attack injured Hassan al-Hela, 41, a member of the medical crew, in his right forearm, and blew out two of the ambulance's windows. The crew did not observe what fired at them, but the only Israeli fire reported in the area that afternoon and evening was from tanks and aircraft. There were no reports of Palestinian rocket or mortar fire in the area at the time. Human Rights Watch observed numerous small holes of between three and five millimeters in diameter in the side of the ambulance at the Red Crescent Center in Khirbat al-Adas, where the crew had taken it. The damage appeared consistent with shrapnel from a small missile. Human Rights Watch was not able to examine shrapnel from the strike, but the damage was consistent with small, cubic shrapnel from the aerial drone-launched missiles that Human Rights Watch examined during the 2008-09 Gaza conflict.
Customary laws of war provide that medical units, including paramedics and ambulances, must be respected and protected in all circumstances. Medical workers engaging exclusively in medical work in the presence of combatants do not forfeit their protected status, and only lose their protection if they commit, outside their humanitarian function, acts harmful to the enemy. A deliberate attack on a medical crew or an ambulance being used solely for medical transport would constitute a serious violation of the laws of war, amounting to a war crime.
"The laws of war have protected medical personnel from attack for nearly 150 years," Whitson said. "Israeli responses to Palestinian attacks cannot show reckless indifference to civilians."
In a second incident, on April 8 at around 12:30 p.m., an Israeli missile attack struck a home in the town of Abasan in southern Gaza, killing Najah Qudeih, 41, and her daughter Nidal, 19, and seriously wounding a second daughter, Nida'a, 17, who remains in a coma.
Nidal's uncle, Fayez Qudeih, 45, told Human Rights Watch that he heard three mortars fired by Palestinian armed groups from somewhere nearby at around 12:15 that afternoon, although he could not specify the precise area.
"After that everything was quiet," he said. "Nidal's father and two sons went to the mosque for Friday prayers, while the mother and four daughters were preparing lunch when the attack happened."
The uncle and Fathi Qudeih, a relative who lives across the street, as well as another resident interviewed separately, said there was no military action between the mortar fire and the time the house was struck about 10 or 15 minutes later. The men said that the women were killed while sitting on the steps of the house, which is about 1.4 kilometers from the Israeli perimeter fence.
"I ran to the house and Nidal was dead already when I got there," Fathi Qudeih told Human Rights Watch. "I saw Najah was badly wounded and praying. The ambulance took 40 minutes to bring her to the hospital, where she died." The relatives added that Nidal was engaged to be married in two months.
Human Rights Watch observed numerous small holes caused by shrapnel in the walls of the building, and a circuit board and other debris indicating an attack from an air-launched missile.
Neither Hamas nor other Palestinian armed groups reported that any fighters had been killed or wounded in the attack.
The Israeli missile strike killing the two women in Abasan appears to have been conducted without distinguishing between fighters and civilians in violation of the international legal prohibition against indiscriminate attacks, Human Rights Watch said.
In a third incident on April 7, several Israeli strikes that used unidentified weapons on a cemetery in the Shajaiya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City killed an Islamic Jihad fighter and a 10-year-old boy. An ambulance crew member who arrived to recover the casualties was wounded, and nine other people were reported injured.
Residents of Shajaiya told Human Rights Watch that members of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad fired mortar rounds from a cemetery in the middle of the neighborhood, around 1.5 kilometers from the Gaza perimeter fence. Shortly after the mortar attack, at around 7 p.m., an Israeli strike hit the cemetery but caused no casualties, residents said. About 10 to 15 children from the area ran into the cemetery to look at the strike site. Five minutes later, residents said, a second strike hit the area, killing one of the children, Mahmoud Wael al-Jaro, and a member of Islamic Jihad named Bilal al-Areer.
Human Rights Watch visited the strike site, where blood and pieces of fabric were visible. Mahmoud's uncle, Alaa' al-Jaro, said the Israeli weapon struck around 150 meters away from where the fighters had fired the mortar. A young boy told Human Rights Watch that he was very close to Mahmoud when he was killed, but that the gravestones had protected the other children from injury. Witnesses described seeing hand-sized pieces of light-colored shrapnel at the site that appeared to be made of an aluminum-like metal. Human Rights Watch was not able to examine the shrapnel.
A subsequent Israeli strike on the cemetery wounded an ambulance crew member. Rami Dababish, 28, a medical worker, told Human Rights Watch that he received an emergency call at around 7:30 p.m. to respond to injuries from an attack in the graveyard. Dababish said that he did not contact the International Red Cross to request coordination with the Israeli military because the cemetery was in the middle of a residential area far from the boundary. He said he arrived at the northern entrance to the cemetery around 7:35 p.m.
"There were no signs of military activity there at the time, and there were a large number of people and cars next to the cemetery," he said. The new strike hit after he entered the cemetery, injuring him and others. He said he believed it was a drone-launched missile. "If it weren't for the gravestones protecting us, many people would have been killed," he said.
Human Rights Watch observed Dababish's injuries, including numerous small wounds in the thigh, neck, face, and right arm, and a small hole that he said shrapnel tore in the bright orange ambulance-crew jacket he wore. Human Rights Watch was not able to examine shrapnel from the strike, but the injuries are also consistent with small, cubic shrapnel from the drone-launched missiles that Human Rights Watch examined during the 2008-09 Gaza conflict. There were no reports of Palestinian mortar or rocket attacks in the area at the time that could have gone astray.
The Palestinian fighters who fired mortar shells from a cemetery in the midst of a crowded residential neighborhood placed civilians at unnecessary risk from counter-strikes. A warring party must take all feasible precautions to protect civilians under its control from the effects of attacks and avoid to the extent feasible deploying within or near densely populated areas - failure to do so is a violation of the laws of war.
Such violations do not justify Israel in attacking without regard for the presence of civilians. Israeli strikes on the cemetery that continued after children and a medical crew entered the area show a failure to take all feasible precautions to ensure only military objectives are attacked, and may have amounted to an indiscriminate attack, Human Rights Watch said.
In a fourth incident, on April 7, Israeli tank shells struck near the home in Shajaiya of Mahmoud Mansur al-Manasra, 55, killing him, and slightly wounding his son Fuad al-Manasra, 17, and his brother Nasser al-Manasra, 44. Human Rights Watch found no evidence to suggest that these men were Palestinian fighters, and Palestinian armed groups did not report any casualties from the Israeli attack.
Kamal al-Manasra, a relative who lives next door, and Sami Harazen, another neighbor whom Human Rights Watch interviewed separately, said that at about 3 p.m. they heard what sounded like a small rocket being launched from somewhere in or near the neighborhood. Harazen believed Palestinian fighters fired it from a location several hundred meters away. Shortly afterward, they heard shells explode near Mahmoud al-Manasra's home.
"Two minutes after the rocket, I heard a shell hit my uncle's [Mahmoud's] house," said Kamal al-Manasra. "My uncle and his son and brother went over to check on the house, and while they were returning another shell fell on my uncle and killed him." Harazen gave a similar account, though he believed the Israeli response occurred less than one minute after the rocket launch.
Human Rights Watch observed shrapnel and entry and exit holes in the walls of Mahmoud al-Manasra's home - the closest building in the neighborhood to the Israeli perimeter fence, roughly one kilometer away - that are consistent with an attack with a shell fired from the main gun of a tank.
Human Rights Watch could not confirm the launch site of the Palestinian rocket. If Palestinian fighters launched a rocket from the midst of a crowded residential neighborhood, they placed civilians at unnecessary risk from counter-strikes; failing to do everything feasible to separate military forces from the civilian population is a violation of the laws of war. This violation would not justify an otherwise illegal Israeli attack.
The legal justification for the Israeli attack is unclear. The laws of war require that a target be identified as a military objective before being attacked. In case of doubt, the people targeted must be assumed to be civilians. Further investigation is needed to determine whether all feasible precautions were taken prior to the attack and whether the tank crew failed to discriminate between combatants and civilians in serious violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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PEN America Cancels Awards Ceremony Amid Boycott Over 'Disgraceful' Gaza Response
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The prominent free expression group PEN America announced Monday that it has canceled its 2024 literary awards ceremony amid growing backlash over the organization's response to Israel's assault on Gaza and alleged attempts to suppress dissent among its employees.
The decision came after nearly half of the authors nominated for PEN America awards withdrew their names from consideration, accusing PEN America of not sufficiently speaking out against Israel's war on Gaza and the dire consequences for free expression.
The awards ceremony was scheduled to take place on April 29 in Manhattan.
In an open letter released last week, dozens of authors and translators who refused to accept any honors from the organization wrote that "PEN America has remained shamefully unwilling to speak out against the systematic nature" of Israel's "often-targeted killings of Palestinian writers, professors, and journalists and their families."
"We stand in solidarity with one another and with the people of Palestine in our refusal to lend our names and tacit approval to PEN America's disgraceful inaction," reads the open letter, which demands the resignation of PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel, president Jennifer Finney Boylan, and the group's entire executive committee.
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"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality."
Clarisse Rosaz Shariyf, PEN America's literary programming chief officer, said in a statement Monday that "we greatly respect that writers have followed their consciences, whether they chose to remain as nominees in their respective categories or not."
"We regret that this unprecedented situation has taken away the spotlight from the extraordinary work selected by esteemed, insightful, and hard-working judges across all categories," Rosaz Shariyf added. "As an organization dedicated to freedom of expression and writers, our commitment to recognizing and honoring outstanding authors and the literary community is steadfast."
Outrage over PEN America's approach to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has been intensifying for months.
In March, as Common Dreamsreported at the time, Naomi Klein, Michelle Alexander, and other high-profile writers pulled out of the PEN World Voices Festival, accusing PEN America of betraying "the organization's professed commitment to peace and equality for all, and to freedom and security for writers everywhere."
After initially refusing to do so, PEN America late last month joined its global parent PEN International in calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. But the organization's critics—including current and former employees—argue it has failed to clearly and forcefully condemn Israel's assault, which has killed more than 34,000 people in Gaza and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian emergency.
"We have been disgusted, for months, by the sight of these leaders clinging to a disingenuous façade of neutrality while parroting hasbara talking points," the open letter from PEN America award nominees states. "We have also been appalled to learn that management has sought to suppress the off-hours political speech and activity of its own workers, in part by suggesting language by which staffers could be punished for participating in any political activity that undermines PEN America's mission."
The Interceptreported late last month that PEN America staffers also raised concerns in December over Nossel's decision to visit Israel amid the country's devastating attack on Gaza.
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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday that he would put forth an amendment to remove offensive military funding for Israel from a House-passed aid package that the Senate is set to consider this week.
The amendment would "cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement. The package, approved by the Republican-controlled House over the weekend, includes $17 billion in unconditional military assistance to the Israeli government, which stands accused on the world stage of perpetrating genocide in Gaza.
The senator said he would also offer an amendment to "protect essential humanitarian operations" in the Gaza Strip, where millions of people are facing the possibility of starvation due to Israel's suffocating and illegal blockade. At least 28 children under the age of 12 have starved to death in Gaza in recent weeks.
Sanders' amendment would restore U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the most important aid agency working in Gaza.
An independent report released Monday found that Israel has not provided any evidence to support its claim that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations. The U.S. suspended its UNRWA aid in late January in response to Israel's unsubstantiated allegations against the agency's workers, and the House-passed Israel legislation would prohibit funding for the organization.
Sanders said Monday that the Senate "should have a chance to debate and vote on the key components of such a massive package."
"In poll after poll, Americans have showed their increasing disgust for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's war machine and the humanitarian disaster it has caused in Gaza," the senator added. "Enough is enough. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war."
I look forward to offering amendments tomorrow to cut billions in offensive military funding to Israel from the proposed national security supplemental package and protect essential humanitarian operations. We cannot continue to fund this horrific war. pic.twitter.com/8JpxpT7IX2
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 23, 2024
A Senate vote on final passage of the White House-backed aid package—which also includes aid for Ukraine and Taiwan—is expected before Wednesday night. As Punchbowl reported, "each senator will be limited to just one hour of remarks" following procedural votes on Tuesday, so "it's likely that those who oppose the measure won't be able to drag this out much later than tonight."
The Senate vote on whether to hand Israel billions more in unconditional military aid will come as the country's military appears poised to escalate its devastating assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 34,000 people so far.
Satellite imagery obtained and analyzed by Al Jazeera shows that Israel has positioned "troops and vehicles at nearby army bases and outposts just outside the enclave."
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A U.S. State Department report released Monday acknowledges that Israel has been credibly accused of grave human rights abuses in Gaza and the West Bank, including extrajudicial killings and torture. U.S. law prohibits American military assistance for governments violating human rights, but the Biden administration has resisted global calls to cut off arms sales to Israel.
"The widespread nature of the abuses described in the human rights report is overshadowed by the State Department's inaction on these same findings," Raed Jarrar, advocacy director of Democracy for the Arab World Now, said Monday. "The State Department needs to read its own report and take immediate action against all abusive Israeli units."
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While expressing gratitude for solidarity actions, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar—whose daughter was suspended—said that "this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
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Over 34,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by U.S.-backed Israeli troops, and Columbia University students have been suspended and arrested by New York Police Department officers in recent days for protesting the slaughter—which led to a walkout by the Ivy League institution's faculty on Monday.
The Guardian reported that "hundreds of members of the teaching cohort at Columbia walked out in solidarity with the students who were arrested" while "students put protest tents back up in the middle of campus on Monday after they were torn down last week when more than 100 arrests were made."
Yonah Lieberman, co-founder of IfNotNow, a Jewish-led U.S. group that organizes against Israel's apartheid, declared: "Solidarity with these faculty members. Shame on establishment politicians and agitators who are smearing the anti-war protest at Columbia as anything other than what it is: a courageous stand for freedom and peace."
Naureen Akhter, a founding member of the New York-based group Muslims for Progress, said: "Thank you to the professors who stood in solidarity with student protestors, who didn't give into instigators who are fanning flames of hate and division. Remember the calls are for transparency, divestment, and amnesty for students!"
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)—a critic of Israel's war on Gaza whose own daughter, Isra Hirsi, was suspended from Columbia's Barnard College last week for "standing in solidarity with Palestinians facing a genocide," as the 21-year-old junior put it—also noted the faculty walkout and "nationwide Gaza solidarity movement."
"This is more than the students hoped for and I am glad to see this type of solidarity," said Omar. "But to be clear, this about the genocide in Gaza and the attention has to remain on that."
Summary of events from the last day not related to Columbia:\n\n- Israel has not provided evidence that UNRWA staff are part of Hamas\n- A mass grave, including women/children was discovered\n- Doctors did an emergency c-section, saving a baby after an airstrikes killed her mother— (@)
The walkout in New York City followed 54 Columbia Law School professors sending a letter to administrators that states, "While we as a faculty disagree about the relevant political issues and express no opinion on the merits of the protest, we are writing to urge respect for basic rule-of-law values that ought to govern our university."
"Procedural irregularity, a lack of transparency about the university's decision-making, and the extraordinary involvement of the NYPD all threaten the university's legitimacy within its own community and beyond its gates," they wrote. "We urge the university to conform student discipline to clear and well-established procedures that respect the rule of law."
In a statement early Monday, several hours before the walkout, Columbia University president Minouche Shafik—who last week enabled NYPD arrests of students at the encampment—announced in her first statement since the sweep that all classes would be virtual "to deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps."
"Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy. Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus," Shafik said. "During the coming days, a working group of deans, university administrators, and faculty members will try to bring this crisis to a resolution."
The national group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on Monday accused Columbia of creating "a climate of repression and harm for students peacefully protesting for an end to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza" over the past six months.
"Columbia University has actively created a hostile environment for students who are Palestinian or who support Palestinian freedom. Additionally, the administration's actions have made the campus much less safe for Jewish students," JVP said.
According to JVP:
Instead of listening to the calls of Columbia and Barnard students to divest from the genocide perpetrated by the Israeli government, the university has called in the NYPD to arrest students, suspended them, and even expelled them. At present 85 students, 15 of whom are Jewish, are suspended.
Yesterday's statement by the White House, like the administrators of Columbia University, dangerously and inaccurately presumes that all Jewish students support the Israeli government's genocide of Palestinians. This assumption is actively harming Palestinian and Jewish students.
The administration has not only harassed Jewish students and failed to ensure their safety and well-being, it has also obstructed their religious observances during Shabbat and prevented them from accessing their Jewish community on the eve of Passover.
While President Joe Biden's Sunday statement was officially about Passover—a Jewish holiday that begins at sundown on Monday—and not the protests at Columbia and other campuses across the country, it was widely received as a response to the latter.
Biden said in part that "we must speak out against the alarming surge of antisemitism—in our schools, communities, and online. Silence is complicity. Even in recent days, we've seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous—and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country."
Jonathan Ben-Menachem, a Ph.D. student at the university, toldCNN that "Columbia students organizing in solidarity with Palestine—including Jewish students—have faced harassment, doxxing, and now arrest by the NYPD. These are the main threats to the safety of Jewish Columbia students."
"On the other hand, student protesters have led interfaith joint prayers for several days now, and Passover Seder will be held at the Gaza solidarity encampment tomorrow," he added. "Saying that student protesters are a threat to Jewish students is a dangerous smear."
Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine said in a lengthy statement that "we are student activists at Columbia calling for divestment from genocide. We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us. At universities across the nation, our movement is united in valuing every human life."
"As a diverse group united by love and justice, we demand our voices be heard against the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza," the statement continues. "We've been horrified each day, watching children crying over the bodies of their slain parents, families without food to eat, and doctors operating without anesthesia. Our university is complicit in this violence and this is why we protest."
The Columbia Spectator reported Monday that Columbia College passed a divestment referendum that "asked whether the university should divest financially from Israel, cancel the Tel Aviv Global Center, and end Columbia's dual degree program with Tel Aviv University," with respective votes of 76.55%, 68.36%, and 65.62%. However, a statement from a university spokesperson signaled the referendum would not lead to any shift in campus policies.
Beyond Columbia, there are ongoing demonstrations at institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University, the University of Michigan, and Yale University, another Ivy League school, where at least 47 peaceful student protesters were arrested on Monday.
Those arrested were "charged with class A misdemeanors, which is the highest class of misdemeanors in Connecticut—the same degree applies to third-degree assault," according to the Yale Daily News. Citing a university spokesperson, the student newspaper added that they "will be referred for Yale disciplinary action—which could include reprimand, probation, or suspension."
Pushing back against some administrators' statements, journalist Thomas Birmingham, who was with the Yale protesters overnight, said on social media: "Here's some things I saw... 1. Repeated and loud calls to remain peaceful. 2. Students locking arms, teaching Arabic and Hebrew, and passing around pizza and water. 3. Lots of singing."
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