Columbia braces as HUNDREDS of NYPD riot cops surround pro-Palestine encampment as university issues 'shelter in place' and protesters link arms screaming 'we will not be moved'

Hundreds NYPD riot cops have surrounded Columbia University's pro-Palestine encampment.

A shelter in place alert was issued for the Morningside campus just began to mobilize on Tuesday night.

Students were warned non-compliance 'may result in further discipline' as officers clad in riot gear descended. 

As cops were making their preparations, activists linked arms and vowed to defend the protest.

The operation came after a rogue group of protesters smashed their way into the college's historic Hamilton Hall to stage an occupation over night. 

The stunt was the latest escalation in the unrest which has rocked the school in recent weeks.

Activists have been camped out at the Ivy League school's South Lawns since April 17.

Protesters have been demanding the college divest from companies with links to Israel or firms profiting from its war on Hamas.

College officials have been battling to shut down the encampment, stating it violates university polices.

Following the occupation of Hamilton Hall, President Minouche Shafik warned that those involved would face expulsion.

More than 100 activists have already been arrested at the school since the encampment began. 

A first encampment was broken up by NYPD officials. But, university officials had vowed not to take similar steps for the current protest. 

They gave students an ultimatum to leave, but few followed the instructions.

'We will not leave until Columbia meets every one of our demands,' one activist screamed from a balcony in the building after the takeover. 

Officials then started to suspend students before a group raided Hamilton Hall.  

It is though the escalation in tactics is what drove the university to call in police. 

The move was condemned by the Columbia University Chapter of the American Association of University Professors which said its members had been locked out of campus.

'NYPD presence in our neighborhood endangers our entire community. Armed police entering our campus places students and everyone else on campus at risk,' a statement read.

'We hold university leadership responsible for the disastrous lapses of judgement that have gotten us to this point.' 

The statement added that faculty had spent the trying to defuse the situation, but were 'rebuffed or ignored.' 

At a press conference prior to the raid, Assistant Commissioner Rebecca Weiner warned the protest had been co-opted by external agitators who were not affiliated with the university.

She stressed the occupation had the potential to spill into other campus buildings, as well as other universities across the country.

'This is not about what's happening overseas, it's not about the last seven months, it's about a very different commitment to at times violent protest activity as an occupation,' she said.

'They haven't got a right to be on campus and this violates university polices and most importantly, presents a danger to students and the university and communities.

'When we see what we saw last night, we think these tactics are a result of guidance being given to students from these external actors.'