A student activist chants slogans inside a gate of Columbia University's Morningside Heights campus in New York City, the United States, April 22, 2024. All classes at Columbia University went virtual starting on Monday as divisive demonstrations and debates around the Israel-Hamas conflict heated up on campus recently.(Photo: Xinhua)

Police have been called in to campuses to arrest demonstrators in several US universities as student protests over the Palestine-Israel conflict have widened in recent days. Chinese experts said the intensifying protests are likely to put the Biden administration in deep quagmire as they reflect US society's boiling anger over the administration's Middle East policies. 

Moreover, the young people's dismay will deal a heavy blow to Biden's reelectionas the incumbent president relies heavily on their support, observers said.

Protests have been bubbling for months, but kicked into a higher gear after more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who were camped out on Columbia University's upper Manhattan campus were arrested last week, AP reported. 

Columbia University officials warned Tuesday (US time) that the ongoing encampment is in violation of university rules and university officials have met with student organizers to discuss the situation, according to CNN. 

A Chinese student studying at Columbia University told the Global Times on Wednesday that the protest organizer is asking people to re-join the protest, despite some arrests. Some students are holding signs saying "empathy for all," and students from the history department offer a QR code directed to the history of Palestine-Israel conflict. 

"In Columbia University, and basically all I hear is sympathy for the people in Gaza. Supporting Palestine is almost a political correctness at Columbia, the only difference is the degree of support. I hardly ever hear anyone actively supporting Israel," said the Chinese student, who requested anonymity. 

The protests are still expanding with a number of encampments now in place at universities including Columbia, Yale, and New York University. Police have been called in to several campuses to arrest demonstrators, according to Reuters.

Overall, public fury over the US government's support for Israel and its policy in the entire Middle East is boiling over. The widening student protests will have an impact on government policies, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday. He said the Biden administration is mired in a dilemma as continuing to support Israel's actions in Gaza will definitely lead to more bloody scenes that will shock the public.

"The ongoing student protests is reminiscent of the massive anti-war movement against US involvement in the Vietnam War, although the current scale is not yet comparable," Lü said.

Chinese experts also said that the growing protests could deal a heavy blow to Biden's reelection, as the incumbent US president relies heavily on young voters. If the demonstration activities worsen, and lead to violence, or even evolve into student protests against the US government, it will greatly impact Biden's reelection, said experts. 

According to the Harvard Youth poll conducted in March, Biden is losing support among young voters, as his handling of the Palestine-Israel conflict and other issues have spurred dissatisfaction among the group. The poll found that more young Americans think Israel's actions are unjustified, rather than justified. 

Biden is facing a dilemma where he cannot afford to lose voters while also needing to continue supporting Israel. Both balancing efforts have proved to be difficult, Lü noted. 

Experts said as the US presidential election looms closer, front pages in the US media are dominated by the university protests and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's trial. These incidents indicate that the US society will be further torn apart and will become more divided before and after the election.