US teenager arrested for melee during UCLA protest in Gaza

Police have arrested a teenager accused of attacking pro-Palestinian protesters at a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) encampment.

The attack three weeks ago resulted in scuffles that ended after more than two hours when police evacuated the scene.

The arrest of Edan On, 18, appears to mark the first arrest of a counterprotester linked to the nightly chaos on campus.

Mr. On is believed to be the person in widely shared photos and videos of the melee seen wearing a white hoodie and mask and hitting protesters with a wooden pole.

Police did not identify the man they arrested by name, but arrest records show Mr. On was arrested by UCLA police Thursday morning.

He was arrested at a Beverly Hills business and is being held in a Los Angeles County jail.

He faces a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Mr. On's mother initially said her son was the person seen in the videos wearing a white mask at the protest camp, according to a CNN report earlier this month, although she later said that he had denied being there.

She said Mr. On was in his final year of high school and was considering joining the Israeli army.

His family declined to comment on the matter to American media on Friday.

A Los Angeles Sheriff's Department official told BBC News on Friday that he had been released on bail, pending trial.

According to US media reports, his bail was set at $30,000 (£24,000).

A letter from the UCLA Campus Safety Office confirmed Friday that campus police detectives helped make “their first arrest in the ongoing investigation into the April 30 assaults on our campus”.

UCLA “is committed to investigating all reported acts of violence and is actively working to identify additional perpetrators of violence associated with protest activities,” the statement continued.

He added that “those who inflicted violence on our community will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

The clashes on April 30 lasted hours and gave rise to strong criticism of the university police.

More than 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had not left the encampment were subsequently arrested.

Earlier this week, the university fired its campus police chief after he was criticized for failing to stop the violence.

American universities have seen the rise of protest movements against the war in Gaza.

But the violence at UCLA shocked Americans.

This came just hours after New York police raided and emptied a Columbia University building occupied by students.

On Thursday, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block testified before Congress in Washington, D.C. about the university's response to the protests.

As he spoke, protesters on campus set up a second encampment, barricaded access to buildings and committed acts of vandalism, the university said Friday.

The protesters were ordered to leave or face arrest, and they “voluntarily dispersed,” the university said, adding that no arrests were made.