NEW YORK, May 8 (Xinhua) -- New York City police officers arrested around 45 protesters on Tuesday night while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment on the campus of Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), according to media reports.
Police officers warned protesters who refused to leave the encampment would be charged for trespassing shortly before taking action.
Hundreds of demonstrators participated in a rally in Union Square and marched to the encampment at FIT earlier on Tuesday night.
Erected on April 25, the encampment on FIT campus was seen as the last remaining "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" on college campuses in the city.
FIT classes and events will be held as scheduled while the museum at FIT is temporarily closed, read a notice on the website of FIT on Wednesday.
The New York Police Department recently sweeped protesters' encampments within Columbia University, New York University, The New School, the City College of New York, Fordham University and others and arrested hundreds of protesters in the process.
The recent raid on pro-Palestinian encampments on U.S. college campuses and arrests of thousands of students by police have drawn sharp criticism from various sides in the United States but also won support from other corners of the society. ■