SAN FRANCISCO, April 26 -- A group of Stanford students took over the university's White Memorial Plaza in San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. state of California, Thursday evening to erect a "People's University For Palestine" encampment to protest Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza.

"After over 200 days of the ongoing genocide in Palestine at the hands of the Israeli apartheid government with a minimum of over 34,000 Palestinians dead in the Gaza strip, a coalition of Stanford students and organizations working as Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine have launched The People's University for Palestine at Stanford," the group said.

"The People's University for Palestine at Stanford stands in firm solidarity first and foremost with the Palestinian people, whose resistance lies at the heart of our student-led efforts," said a statement from Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine.

"Additionally, we stand with the numerous pro-Palestine movements at universities across the country and around the globe," it said.

Demonstrators did not specify how long the demonstration would last, only saying it will be "multi-day."

"Our focus continues to be on providing for the safety of our community," spokesperson for Stanford Luisa Rapport said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. "We support the peaceful expression of free speech, but for those who violate university policies, the university will be enforcing its time, place, and manner rules through Stanford's student disciplinary process."

"White Plaza is a designated free-speech area reservable by Stanford-recognized student organizations," Stanford's interim provost for student affairs C. Matthew Snipp told the Stanford Daily, adding that overnight camping, unapproved structures and other violations of policy would result in referrals to the university's Office of Community Standards and could also lead to arrests if laws are violated.

On Tuesday, students at UC Berkeley placed tents atop the steps of Sprout Hall, vowing to remain outside the administrative building until the university pledges to establish a Palestinian studies program and divest from companies doing business with the Israeli government, according to a report by the San Francisco Chronicle.

  - Xinhua