New episodic business of police in the US to evacuate a pro-Palestinian encampment at the university George Washington. Law enforcement forces evacuated the encampment at the university in the American capital at dawn and made arrests, police said in a press release.

Calling it “a gradual escalation”, the city’s police explained that they initially attempted to “defuse tensions” before intervening.

Around 04.00 am local time, police officers intervened on the campus and they used pepper spray against the protesters, as the student news outlet GW Hatchet reports, making dozens of arrests.

The police operation came as the mayor and police chief were expected to testify before Congress later today on their handling of the student protests.

That hearing was canceled due to the evacuation of the camp, said James Comer, a Republican member of the House of Representatives.

American universities have been rocking for weeks from the protests against Israel’s war on Gaza.

Across the country, law enforcement was called in by university administrations to evacuate encampments and forcibly remove protesters.