Pro-Palestinian university encampments on May 1 

USA 

• Reports indicate that pro-Palestinian activists set-up encampments on 30 university campuses across the country as of the night hours (Eastern Time, ET) on May 1.
• Encampments have been reported at Columbia University and Fordham University in New York City, NY; University at Buffalo, NY; Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, DePaul University in Chicago, IL; University of Wisconsin-Madison; George Washington University in Washington, DC; University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); and Ohio State University in Columbus, OH on May 1.  

1. Based on current estimates, judging by the growing momentum of pro-Palestinian activism among student groups, associated protests, including in the form of encampments and sit-ins, are likely to continue at elite universities in the USA in the coming days despite the increasingly strict law enforcement measures.
2. The size of the encampments will continue to vary from the low dozens to mid-hundreds on each campus, with the protest activity on the UCLA and Columbia University campuses expected to witness the highest scale and intensity.  
3. Ongoing encampments and planned protests on the campuses carry a credible likelihood of localized unrest in form of clashes with police and pro-Israeli students or counter-demonstrators. To this end, provocative antisemitic or Islamophobic sloganeering or dispersal orders by law enforcement or university authorities is liable to escalate the situation into violent unrest. Clashes between opposing activist groups can involve the use of sticks, stones, and firecrackers. During such a scenario, police are liable to use tear gas and water cannons, and tasers to a lesser extent.  
4. Given the elevated rhetoric over the Israel-Hamas conflict among both sides, the potential for a security incident stemming from antisemitism or Islamophobia, manifesting as a lone-wolf stabbing attack, shooting, or vehicular-ramming, cannot be ruled out during a campus protest.  
5. A heavy police presence can be expected outside university campuses witnessing ongoing encampments as well as campuses where tents have been dispersed as a precaution.  
6. While the scale and intensity of protests on university campuses in Canada is lower, police are likely to intervene and conduct arrests if the tents grow in size in the coming days, which will also increase the potential for pro-Israeli counter-protests and ensuing clashes.  
7. A police response on campus involving arrests of student activists can also lead to spillover pro-Palestinian rallies along major thoroughfares, historical landmarks, and metro stations in the vicinity of the university. 

1. Those operating or residing in Canada and the USA on May 2 and in the coming days are advised to maintain heightened vigilance near university campuses recording pro-Palestinian protests due to the potential for unrest.
2. Allot for disruptions to travel in the vicinity of the protests.