The US Columbia University announced on Friday that it was suspending the operation of two student clubs that organized demonstrations with a central demand for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, accusing them of “repeatedly violating” the rules for organizing events on its premises.

The two clubs, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), have been suspended until the end of the fall semester, Gerald Rosberg, the university’s vice president, said in a statement from the university. .

“This decision was made after the two clubs repeatedly violated the university’s policies for holding events on its premises, culminating in an unsanctioned event that was held despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation,” according to Columbia’s vice president.

Mr Rosberg made it clear that the suspension would only be lifted if the two clubs showed a willingness to comply with the institution’s rules.

“This will guarantee the safety of our community and the smooth conduct of the university’s core activities,” added the executive vice president.

Hundreds of Columbia students abstained from classes yesterday Thursday, according to American media, to participate in a demonstration organized by the two clubs.

In the rally, they called on the US government to press for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel’s relentless shelling has killed more than 11,000 people, mostly civilians, including more than 4,500 children, according to with the Hamas Health Ministry.

The bombings are in retaliation for an October 7 attack by Palestinian Islamist militants in Israel that left 1,200 dead, most of them civilians, according to a downwardly revised toll released yesterday by Israeli authorities.

According to reports in the American press, some of the students yesterday demanded that the university call Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip “genocide” and stop cooperating with Israeli institutions.