A timeline of events leading to UNC, NC State confrontations over Israel-Hamas war protests

Dan Kane
·2 min read
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrations at UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University have drawn more attention to the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with calls for a cease fire and a divestiture of any university investments in companies profiting from the war.

They have also resulted in clashes with police and university officials, with 30 detained and seven arrested.

Here’s a timeline of events.

UNC students pitch tents

April 19: After more than 100 students were arrested at Columbia University, UNC’s Students for Justice in Palestine holds a protest in front of South Building to show solidarity with the pro-Palestinian encampment, the Daily Tar Heel reports. University officials that afternoon tell the protesters they needed to take down their tents because UNC SJP had not obtained prior approval for the temporary structures, as university policy requires. The protest ends about an hour later.

April 26: UNC SJP launches another encampment on Polk Place with more than a dozen tents pitched and more than 100 people attending. Negotiations with university officials lead to the tents’ poles being taken down, but the fabric left in place. A group of about 20 counter-protesters arrive shortly after, but several of them leave after talking with UNC police chief Brian James.

April 28: Following an afternoon march that drew hundreds to the campus, including students from other Triangle universities, protesters put the tents back up. Hundreds of students remain at the encampment well into the night.

Confrontations with police

April 30: Before dawn, interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens release a statement telling protesters to “remove all tents, tables, and other items and depart from the area” of the encampment.

Campus police arrive a short time later and begin detaining protesters who refused to leave.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with police after replacing an American flag with a Palestinian flag Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at UNC-Chapel Hill. Police removed a “Gaza solidarity encampment” earlier Tuesday morning.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash with police after replacing an American flag with a Palestinian flag Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at UNC-Chapel Hill. Police removed a “Gaza solidarity encampment” earlier Tuesday morning.

Metal barriers are erected at the encampment site, but protesters take them down and reenter the area. They take down an American flag and raise the Palestinian flag. Protesters throw water on Roberts and police officers as they worked to rehang the American flag.

By day’s end, 36 members of the encampment protesters have been detained, nearly all of them for trespassing. Ten of them are students.

Meanwhile, police at N.C. State University arrest a protester after a confrontation between protesters and police at that campus.