Pro-Palestinian demonstrations resume at Emory University: Counter-protesters clash on campus

ATLANTA - Tensions are running high on the campus of Emory University as pro-Palestinian protests continue for a second week. 

Just after 7 p.m., Emory police asked protesters to leave the area blocking the admission building. A tent encampment was erected immediately in front of the building.

"We would like for you to please leave quietly, take down the tents, the doors are blocked, and we want to unblock them," an Emory officer told protesters.  

Those protesters would move to the quad shortly before 8 p.m. as a pro-Israel counter-protest also came onto the campus.

While on the quad, an Emory University faculty advisor approached a man wearing an Israeli flag attempting to make his way towards the crowd. A tense moment followed with the staff member asking the man to leave.

The man eventually made his way towards the pro-Palestine supporters, but was blocked. The confrontation did not turn violent.

Emory University holds pro-Palestine protest on May Day

Several students appeared to have entered the undergraduate admissions office at Emory University. 

FOX 5 spotted about 50 students walking into the admissions office around 3:30 p.m. 

MORE: Emory University president 'devastated' by arrests of students, staff on campus

The students appear to be part of the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests, culminating with May Day protests across the country. They were seen walking down N. Decatur Avenue and around the iconic Emory University sign near the main roundabout.

Students would later block the entrance to the admission building, erecting tents and signs in front of the doors.

Emory University counter-protesters demand freeing of hostages

Across campus, a couple dozen protesters gathered to counter the pro-Palestinian demonstration in front of the undergraduate admissions office. 

Some of them wrapped themselves in Israeli flags as they stood with a large sign that read "FREE THEM NOW," referring to the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.

Bomb squad responds to Emory University Campus

A campus-wide alert announced a lockdown around the iconic Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church along N. Decatur Avenue after a suspicious bag was found nearby.

Emory University police asked the DeKalb County Police Bomb Squad for assistance with helping to identify if the bag was a threat.

University officials issued the following statement: 

"At 3:35 p.m., Emory University notified our community about a police emergency at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church and instructed people to avoid the area. A suspicious package was found near the church and Glenn School. Emory Police requested assistance from DeKalb Police to investigate. Law enforcement officers determined the package did not pose a threat and Emory issued an all-clear at 4:03 p.m." 

The emergency was lifted around 4 p.m., but protesters continued to march through the campus.

Emory University protests draw ire

The latest round of protests comes as Emory University faculty members are set to hold a vote of no confidence against university President Gregory Fenves and the response to recent arrests during protests.  

"Really heartbroken to see what should be one of the most educated places in America use violence, violent force against students," said Emory University senior Madeline Gordon. 

Gov. Brian Kemp supports swift action against campus protests.

"When people start breaking the law, damaging personal property; and we are not going to allow other students, people on campus, or other citizens to be disrupted by people that are breaking the law," said Kemp. 

"It's an entire people's group that are essentially being wiped off the face of the planet. To me, that should be really intuitive. Genocide is bad. I want to do what I can to keep that from continuing," said Gordon. 

Pro-Palestine protests across the country 

Tent encampments have popped up across the nation’s college campuses within the past couple of weeks. Protesters are calling for universities to stop doing business with Israel directly or companies which support the war in Gaza. The nationwide demonstrations, which echo a student movement calling to end the Vietnam War in the 1960s, appear to have more vocal support. 

This is all playing out in an election year, aiming to change the current Biden administration policy supporting Israel. 

More than 1,300 arrests have been made nationwide as protesters clash with police officers. The demonstrations have also opened new diplomacy between leaders of the movement and campus officials who seek to quell interruptions ahead of the end of the semester and commencement ceremonies. 

However, some campuses have not seen this sort of cooperation. Like at UCLA where pro-Israel protesters tried to remove barricades at a pro-Palestinian encampment, and activists at the University of Wisconsin in Madison clashed with police officers who destroyed their tents.

Anti-war protesters at Columbia University were removed from a building they chose to occupy late Tuesday.

After a couple of hours of scuffles between dueling demonstrators at the University of California, Los Angeles, police wearing helmets and face shields separated the groups and restored peace. Later Wednesday, pro-Palestinian protesters rebuilt a barricade around their encampment. There were no counter-protesters in sight and law enforcement officers were deployed throughout the campus. 

In Madison on Wednesday, police with shields removed all but one tent and shoved protesters, resulting in a scrum. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a skateboard, according to University of Wisconsin police spokesperson Marc Lovicott. 

Within hours, protesters had erected more tents at the UW campus. 

More than 30 people were arrested, most of them released without charges, but four were charged with battering law enforcement, police said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this article