More than 2,000 people have been arrested so far since the start of the pro-Palestinian protests on US campuses a fortnight ago.

The NBC News tally noted that the arrests came from some 60 universities and institutions across the country that joined demonstrations and encampments in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, which also demand that schools sever ties with Israel.

For President Joe Biden, it is a matter of urgency that the wave of demonstrations dissipate. He cannot afford a summer of protests that reach boiling point in time for the Democratic National Convention in August and then spill over into the final weeks of the election campaign for a rematch with Donald Trump, local media report.

After days of protests on university campuses, sparked by outrage at the killing of civilians under Israeli bombs in Gaza, the president made a public statement in front of the cameras.

Some observers believe Biden needed to avoid further alienating young, progressive voters who are furious over his handling of the Gaza war and who could ruin his re-election hopes if they do not go to the polls in November.

But he also needed to ensure that more middle-of-the-road voters are not convinced by Trump’s claims that the country is on fire and out of control.

The Gaza solidarity protests have further exposed a deep vulnerability in a re-election race in which the president is neck-and-neck with his predecessor – with a mountain of legal entanglements – and faces an uphill task in finding a path to 270 electoral votes, said a CNN analysis.

However, the ruler made it clear that the pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have not made him rethink his Middle East policy.

Thousands of voters have cast protest votes against Biden in the Democratic primaries, and a recent news network poll released over the weekend found that his worst approval rating was for his handling of Israel’s war against Hamas.