Pro-Gaza protests, police raid the University of California campus

The director of the Santa Monica Mirror: "In addition to pacifist students there are provocateurs who insult and accuse"

ROME – “Here on campus the students protest that the tuition money ends up in Blackrock and, through the private equity giant, in arms for Israel; then there are the provocateurs, who insult and they accusations, even now, at this moment.” Dolores Quintana, editor of the Santa Monica Mirror newspaper, is at the University of California, Los Angeles. Last night, around 1.30am, in the heart of the campus, in Royce Quad, she was attacked by a group of men. “Not of college age but older, professional provocateurs” denounces the journalist, reached by the Dire agency on the telephone. “They insulted me, accusing me without any basis of being a racist; and they also targeted other women, always with the aim of starting a fight by inciting the students, who in most cases are more anti-racist than ever”.

READ ALSO: Pro-Gaza protests in the United States, campus in California surrounded: police ready to blitz

According to Quintana, some of the provocateurs are linked to the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement, inspired by former president Donald Trump. Certainly, last night the police watched from a distance without intervening despite seeing the violent groups in action. This night, however, in the morning in Italy, there were many more agents. Finally, shortly after three, they broke into the campus. “There was an eviction order and they also arrived from Santa Monica, which is about fifty kilometers away” Quintana reports. “It was clear that it would be a massive operation, organized in advance.”

In the latest photos arriving from the UCLA campus, also spread on social networks, you can see young people being taken away in handcuffs, their hands tied behind their backs. The operation, with detentions, arrests and accusations against the officers of using rubber bullets are still ongoing. Quintana continues his story, returning to last night, “terrible and dangerous”, he says. “Groups of supporters of Israel with extremist positions also infiltrated the protest” reports the director. “They believe they can do anything: they even attacked reporters from the college newspaper.”

The conversation with the reporter takes place just as the agents raid the Royce Quad.
Quintana has just told how some men tried to steal her cell phone. Then he broadens his gaze. “Most of the students demonstrating are peaceful people” underlines the journalist. “They were driven to mobilize by the fear that the money paid to the university could be invested through Blackrockalso in supplies of weapons to Israel, which continues to bomb and kill civilians in the Gaza Strip”.< /strong>p>