Hundreds arrests of students participating in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and occupations in American universities have taken place since the end of April until today in the USA.

The student movement against the war in Gaza has caused a crisis even at major institutions, such as Columbia University in New York, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

The latter, in fact, threatens not to grant a degree to at least 55 students who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, according to administration members who support the students.

On May 2, the police stormed the University grounds and violently broke up an occupation in solidarity with the people of Gaza, arresting dozens of students.

These students received a letter from the chancellor, in which the administration accuses them of “violating the student code of conduct” and warns them of a number of possible serious sanctions.

In the letters, copies of which have been obtained by the Guardian, the assistant deans wrote that the students had failed to respond to police orders to disperse and were engaging in “disruptive behaviour”, “disturbing the peace” and “failing to comply” with the law

According to the letters, the students are required to attend a meeting to discuss the “complaints” against them and “they cannot be awarded a degree until an investigation is completed.”

The students are calling on the universities to condemn Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip and to end their contracts with arms companies that supply Israel.

About 100 US colleges have reported gifts or contracts from Israel totaling $375 million over the past two decades, according to a US Department of Education database.