Protests on US college campuses over the war in Gaza continue unabated. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters clashed at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Nationwide rallies – which saw hundreds of arrests – continued throughout the weekend.

At UCLA, “incidents broke out” after a barrier separating the two sides was breached, an official said.

The White House has insisted that the protests must remain peaceful while respecting the protesters’ right to protest the Israel-Gaza war, a National Security Council spokesman told ABC. But he reiterated the US government’s condemnation of the reported anti-Semitic incidents, as well as “all hate speech and threats of violence”, John Kirby told the ABC yesterday, Sunday.

At UCLA, a pro-Palestinian camp has been set up and is growing.

Many pro-Palestinian protesters have sought to distance themselves from anti-Semitic incidents and in some cases have blamed rioters unrelated to the university.

The two groups at UCLA remained peaceful until Sunday, Reuters news agency reported, when baton-wielding campus police broke them up as they shoved each other and traded punches.

“We are devastated by the violence that has erupted,” the university said, adding that additional security measures have been introduced in response.

In the past fortnight, a nationwide uprising has emerged, which university authorities and law enforcement have struggled to contain. The movement appears to have been boosted by the arrest of more than 100 protesters at New York’s Columbia University after police were called to clear an encampment.

Since then, hundreds have been arrested at locations across the US from coast to coast – many of whom had set up their own tents on university campuses.

The protesters are demanding a cease-fire in Gaza and for its universities with financial ties to Israel to sever their financial ties or withdraw altogether.