Officers dismantling pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA

Law enforcement is dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment Thursday morning that has been set up in Dickson Plaza on the University of California, Los Angeles campus for about a week now.

The encampment was declared an unlawful assembly after several violent skirmishes broke out over the past few days between pro-Palestine demonstrators and pro-Israeli counterprotesters.

Dispersal orders were given to those in the encampment around 6 p.m. Wednesday but most refused to leave.

Officers from multiple agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol, were sent in to dismantle the encampment but were outnumbered and decided to call for reinforcements and wait until the morning hours to move in.

Several flash-bang noises could be heard as officers began tearing down the structure’s metal and wood barriers around 3 a.m. although it was unclear which side they were coming from.

Video showed several demonstrators being detained and walked out of the encampment.

Once the barricade was removed there was a standoff between more than 300 officers and defiant protesters who remained locked in arms and at the encampment.

Law enforcement could be heard warning the protesters to leave the area.

Around 4:30 a.m. dozens of officers swarmed through the middle of the encampment prompting a few of the protesters to flee.

Thursday’s events come after a week of inaction by UCLA administration that allowed the encampment to be set up on campus in violation of school policies.

A counter-protest was eventually set up by pro-Israeli supporters and several skirmishes between the two groups resulted over the next few days.

The most violent confrontation occurred Tuesday night when about 100 people wearing masks and dark clothing tried to breach the encampment.

Images showed several bloodied participants on both sides, leading to outrage from city officials and parents of students at the school.

The disruption caused classes to be canceled at the school on Wednesday.

Check back for updates on this developing story.