Group of pro-Palestinian students enters Hamilton Hall building at Columbia University

NEW YORK, US - APRIL 29, 2024: A group of pro-Palestinian students from Columbia University in New York City entered the Hamilton Hall building on the university campus after negotiations with the school administration failed to reach a compromise, according to local media. The university administration has issued disciplinary actions and initiated the suspension of some students after pro-Palestinian demonstrators refused to vacate encampments on campus established in solidarity with Gaza by the 2 p.m. deadline on Monday. A group of students entered the historic Hamilton Hall building located on the university's central campus late Monday night. Some students blocked the main entrance and chanted "Free Palestine" slogans, according to the New York Times. Columbia students unfurled a banner that reads "Hind's Hall," in reference to Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces. In a statement on Monday, Columbia President Nemat Minouche Shafik acknowledged the breakdown of talks between the university and the protesters, adding that the university has declined to “divest from Israel.” Columbia University will not meet a central demand of pro-Palestinian protesters who should "voluntarily disperse" amid stalled talks, Shafik said. Since Wednesday, a "small group of academic leaders" have been in "constructive dialogue" with protest organizers "to find a path that would result in the dismantling of the encampment and adherence to University policies going forward," he added. (Footage by Lokman Vural Elibol /Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)