Skirmish highlights students' anger

Protests at US universities showed no sign of slowing over the weekend, with more arrests on campuses and a brief skirmish between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the University of California-Los Angeles, or UCLA, where a tent encampment was set up last week.

Protesters opposed to Israel's incursion into Gaza are demanding a cease-fire in the conflict with Hamas and the divestment of university assets in companies involved with the Israeli military, and an end to US military assistance to Israel.

As the size of an encampment at UCLA expanded in recent days, counter-protesters have become increasingly vocal and visible on the campus, although both sides remained peaceful until Sunday.

The tone turned ugly at around midday when members of two groups of protesters clashed, shoving one another and shouting, and in some cases trading punches.

Security guards attempted to keep the two sides separated, while campus police stood by and watched the brief skirmish, according to a Reuters photographer who witnessed the scene at around noon local time.

The dueling demonstrations involved at least some people from outside the university, which issued a statement on Sunday saying it had allowed two groups on campus to express their views.

Nationwide arrests in the protests have reached 900, as about 275 people were arrested on Saturday at campuses, including Indiana University in Bloomington, Arizona State University in Tempe and Washington University in St. Louis.

'Just shameful'

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.

Protesters also turned up at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday, and some guests hurried through the crowd.

The protesters called out US President Joe Biden for his support of Israel's military campaign. They also criticized Western news outlets for what they said was undercoverage and misrepresentation of the conflict.

More than two dozen journalists in Gaza wrote a letter last week calling on their colleagues in Washington to boycott the dinner altogether.

"The toll exacted on us for merely fulfilling our journalistic duties is staggering," the letter stated.

Agencies contributed to this story.