Protesters set up encampment on George Washington University campus

“We don’t want two states,” a demonstrator said. “We’re taking back ’48.”

About a dozen people echoed the chant, holding signs that said, “End the occupation now.”

A few feet away, two George Washington University police officers watched the demonstration. One had an AirPod in and sipped his coffee.

About 10 a.m., a man who said he was a student at the university walked into the crowd holding an Israeli flag above his head. A school police officer stepped into the crowd, apparently trying to separate the pro-Israel demonstrator from the swarm of people around him, who chanted “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Police then seemed to want the man to leave the area — to which he responded by holding up his flag, shaking his head and saying to police, “This is my campus.” Police momentarily stepped back, before the man appeared to push or make contact with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator in front of him.

At that point, the officers forced the man away from the demonstration and into a university building, with his hands behind his back.

Near tents on the grass, some students sat on their laptops and others sorted through stacks of fruit snacks and granola bars. The number of students in kaffiyehs doubled from about 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

At Georgetown University, a group of about 100 protesters gathered on the steps of Healy Hall around 10:30 a.m. They chanted “Free Free Palestine” and cautioned those gathered not to speak with police or the media.

Nader Hashemi, an associate professor at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, circulated a faculty statement of solidarity with Columbia University students. The group planned to move to George Washington University after the rally concluded.

“I’m old enough to remember anti-Vietnam protests,” he said. “This is a movement that seems similar.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.