The police evacuated a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested demonstrators, hours after dozens marched to the university president's home while city officials were set to appear before Congress regarding the handling of the protest.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith were summoned to testify Wednesday afternoon before the Republican-led House Oversight and Accountability Committee, but the session was canceled after the arrests.

After the crackdown, Bowser told reporters that she and the police decided to clear the camp based on information exchanged about increasing public safety threats, adding, "Our response to the demonstrations is always rooted in public safety and accountability."

Smith said there were indications that "the protest had become more volatile and less stable," while Jeffrey Carroll, chief operating officer of the police department, noted that there were signs that protesters were "collecting makeshift weapons" and "surrounding" university buildings with a potential intent to occupy them.

Tensions have escalated in confrontations with protesters over the war between Israel and Hamas at universities across the United States and increasingly in Europe. Some colleges have taken immediate action against certain protests. Others have tolerated demonstrations. Some are growing impatient and have contacted the police out of concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.

For its part, the D.C. Police said officers moved to disperse demonstrators at George Washington because "there was a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest." They stated that 33 people were arrested, including for assaulting a police officer and unlawful entry. They confirmed that they used pepper spray outside the camp against demonstrators attempting to break through police lines and enter.

George Washington University had warned of the possibility of suspending the camp due to ongoing protests in the university's yard. Demonstrators carrying signs that read "Free Palestine" and "Hands Off Rafah" marched to President Ellen Granberg's home on Tuesday night.

The university stated, "While the university is committed to protecting students' rights to free expression, the camp has evolved into illegal activity, with participants directly violating multiple university policies and city regulations."

Since April 18, just over 2,600 people have been arrested across 50 college campuses, according to reports from the Associated Press and data from universities and law enforcement following the recent anti-war movement sparked by a protest at Columbia University in New York.

Officers in riot gear at the University of Chicago cleared a pro-Palestinian camp on Tuesday after officials who initially took a lenient approach said that protesters had crossed the line, raising safety concerns. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered for at least eight days until officials warned them Friday to leave or face removal.

Chicago officers later seized a barricade set up to keep protesters away from the main gathering site on campus and moved it toward the demonstrators, some of whom shouted, "Up, up with liberation. Down, down with occupation!" Police and demonstrators surged back and forth along the barricade as officers moved to regain control.

University of Chicago President Paul Alivisatos wrote: "The university remains a place where dissenting voices have many avenues to express themselves, but we cannot provide an environment where the expression of some dominates and disrupts the healthy functioning of community for the rest."

Other schools allow protesters to organize marches and set up their camps as they see fit.

The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, praised the demonstration on campus, which includes a pro-Palestinian camp, as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to over 100 tents.

University President Michael Roth wrote to the campus community on Thursday: "The issue of the protesters is important - to draw attention to the killing of innocents." "We continue to provide them the space to do so as long as that space does not disrupt the operations of the campus."

Crystal Williams, president of the Rhode Island School of Design, spent over five hours with protesters discussing their demands after students began occupying the building on Monday.

The school announced on Tuesday that it would move classes from the building that was covered in posters saying "Free Palestine" and "Let Gaza Live."

Some colleges have tried tactics ranging from appeasement to threatening disciplinary action to pave the way for initiation.

Police moved on Tuesday night to disperse a camp at the University of Massachusetts. A video from the scene in Amherst showed a lengthy operation in which dozens of riot-equipped police systematically tore down tents and detained protesters. The operation continued into early Wednesday.

UMass Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the sweep after discussions over a wide range of demands failed to reach an agreement for clearing the camp and entering into "constructive discussions."

A week prior, George Washington's camp hosted a somewhat tumultuous visit from several Republican members of the House Oversight Committee who criticized the protests and condemned Bowser’s refusal at that stage to send police.

Bowser confirmed Monday that the city and police department had denied the university's request to intervene. She said at the time, "We had no acts of violence that could be interrupted on the George W. University campus."