What is happening on US university campuses where students are being arrested after protesting against the war in Gaza? Could the protests spread to Scottish universities?

Student protesters have been arrested in the US

Columbia cancelled in-person classes, dozens of protesters were arrested at New York University and Yale, and the gates to Harvard Yard were closed to the public as some of the most prestigious US universities sought to defuse campus tensions over Israel's war with Hamas.

Why have students been arrested in the US?

More than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had camped out on Columbia's green were arrested last week, and similar encampments have sprouted up at universities around the country.

New York University students set up a "Liberated Zone" tent encampment in Gould Plaza at NYU Stern School of Business. NYU students joined the growing number of students in colleges throughout the country to set up tent encampments on school grounds calling on their schools to divest from Israel and a ceasefire in Gaza. Nearly 50 people were arrested at Yale on Monday morning after the arrest last week of more than 100 protesters at Columbia University. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

At New York University, an encampment set up by students swelled to hundreds of protesters throughout the day on Monday.

The university said it had warned the crowd to leave, then called in the police after the scene became disorderly and the university said it learned of reports of "intimidating chants and several antisemitic incidents". Police began making arrests shortly after 8.30pm.

In Massachusetts, a sign said Harvard Yard was closed to the public on Monday. It said structures, including tents and tables, were only allowed into the yard with prior permission. "Students violating these policies are subject to disciplinary action," the sign said.

The same day, the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee said the university's administration had suspended their group.

At Yale, in Connecticut, police officers arrested about 45 protesters and charged them with misdemeanour trespassing, a New Haven police spokesperson said. All were being released on promises to appear in court later, he said.

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Why are the protests so controversial?

Universities are wrestling with where to draw the line between allowing free expression while maintaining safe and inclusive campuses.

The protests have pitted students against one another, with pro-Palestinian students demanding that their schools condemn Israel's assault on Gaza and divest from companies that sell weapons to Israel.

Some Jewish students say much of the criticism of Israel has veered into antisemitism and made them feel unsafe, and they point out that Hamas is still holding hostages taken during the group's October 7 attack.

"It's a really outrageous crackdown by the university to allow the police to arrest students on our own campus," New York University law student Byul Yoon said.

"Antisemitism is never OK. That's absolutely not what we stand for and that's why there are so many Jewish comrades that are here with us today," the student said.

Could this happen in Scotland?

There have been protests at Scottish universities since the war in Gaza began, however, the police and university authorities have generally allowed them to take place.

In Edinburgh, student protesters are still occupying a building at the university’s 40 George Square campus after beginning a sit-in earlier this month. The students have claimed the university holds millions of pounds in companies which fund Israel.

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, protesters ended a 15-day occupation at the city’s 11 University Gardens in February after agreeing to talks with university authorities following a stand-off in which protesters were confined to a room without toilet access.

At the University of St Andrews, the newly-elected rector, Stella Maris, came under fire in November after she accused Israel of genocide in Gaza.