Embattled Columbia University president Minouche Shafik caved to pressure from anti-Israel protesters early Wednesday — giving them another 48 hours to dismantle the tent city that’s popped up on campus.

The administration announced early Wednesday that it will continue dialogue for “the next 48 hours” following “important progress with representatives of the student encampment.”

The backtrack from Shafik came just as a protest leader was seen on video telling students through a bullhorn to form platoons and “turn up quickly en masse, in front of the encampment” to block police from making arrests in the event of a sweep. 

The man said they were entering a time of “high alert” for the next three days until the new Friday deadline to leave — and told on the crowd they may need to call on their friends who weren’t there to show up and help “defend the encampment.”   

“Will you be ready to turn up for comrades?” the unidentified individual shouted, according to a video from Columbia Daily Spectator reporter Jessica Schwalb that was made before dawn Wednesday. “We are so close to divestment!”

The Columbia division of Students for Justice in Palestine said just after the midnight deadline passed that they had left talks with the school “until there is a written commitment that the administration will not be unleashing the NYPD or the National Guard on its students.”

The university’s threats to call NYPD and the National Guard on the encampment “severed” the already tense negotiations, the group added in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

As of 4 a.m. Wednesday, the students claimed in a post on X that they had a written commitment from Columbia that the authorities would not be used to dismantle the protest, the statement added.

“Columbia’s reliance on the threat of state violence against peaceful protestors has created an unstable ground for the negotiations process which will continue over the next 48 hours. However, Columbia’s written commitment and concession not to call the NYPD or the National Guard signifies an important victory for students,” their statement said.

Some demonstrators were seen dismantling tents on the west side of the South Lawn ahead of Tuesday’s initial midnight deadline, but others just relocated to Furnald Lawn while dozens of others remained where they were.

Shortly after midnight, demonstrators began moving back onto the west side of the South Lawn.

Some held signs that read, “Victory to the Palestinian Resistance,” while chanting “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” 

Other protesters also blamed President Biden for the situation in Gaza, yelling “Biden, Biden, Biden you can’t hide, We charge you with genocide.” 

Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, a man named John Pugh was arrested for repeatedly banging a drum near the campus.

Pugh refused to lower his volume and resisted cops’ attempting to arrest him by tensing his arms and body, law enforcement sources said.

Khymani James, a junior at Columbia speaking at the protest, said that students will not disperse until their demands for the school to divest from Israel and provide full amnesty for the protesters are met. 

“As stated many times, until these demands are met, we do not have any plans of leaving,” James said, adding that the protest has gone on for a week. 

“We continue to support our comrades building encampments at schools across the country,” he added of the protests popping up on college campuses in Connecticut, California, Texas and other states.  

James ultimately described Shafik’s decision to prolong the negotiations as a “win” for the protesters.  

“Our negotiation team has committed not to participate in a bargaining process so long as the university attempts to extract concessions by police or military force,” he said.

The failure to meet the midnight deadline was another blow for Shafik, who is facing calls to resign from both sides of the issue in the aftermath of her appearance before a House committee last week and NYPD’s mass arrest on Thursday.

Shafik – who previously vowed to crack down the protests and antisemitism on campus – initially set a midnight deadline on Wednesday for them to clear out in a letter on Tuesday.

“For several days, a small group of faculty, administrators, and University Senators have been in dialogue with student organizers to discuss the basis for dismantling the encampment, dispersing, and following university policies going forward,” Shafik said. 

Shafik hoped the “discussions are successful” but warned that the school “will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate.”

NYPD riot police were seen staging around the campus overnight, and cops were reportedly telling protesters to keep the volume from the encampment and restrain from beating against barricades or be at risk of arrest.

Around a dozen riot police were spread out near the main entrance to campus Wednesday morning, where they watched about 20 protesters who braved the drizzle outside the campus gates.

As Wednesday wore on there were no reports of violence or arrests at the encampment. Protesters were seen receiving food including sandwiches from Pret a Manger and coffee from Dunkin’. They also had various snacks and muffins and what appeared to be tubs of hummus.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she has no plans to call in the National Guard to respond to the protests, according to City & State NY.

The FDNY also conducted a walk-through of the encampment on Monday and shared that those there agreed to comply with “all requirements of FDNY with respect to activities and safety,” according to the spokesperson.

Student protesters have also agreed that only Columbia students will remain in the encampment, and all those not associated with the university will leave.

Non-student protestors can continue to demonstrate off school grounds.

The campus remains restricted to “Columbia ID holders” and credentialed press members, the spokesperson said.

Protesters have also “taken steps to make the encampment welcome to all and have prohibited discriminatory or harassing language.” 

Following the “conversations” over the next 48 hours, the university plans on making a statement about the negotiation’s progress.

Protesters first erected tents on Columbia’s lawn last Wednesday.

The next day, the NYPD, at the request of Shafik, cleared out the encampment, leading to the arrest of more than 100 protesters. 

However, less than 24 hours later, protesters had reassembled their anti-Israel tent encampment.

Shafik’s failure to curb the controversy led the university to announce plans for to move classes to a hybrid format for the rest of the spring semester.

The move was slammed by some students, who said they were losing valuable learning time due to the ongoing strife.

Scores of alumni have pulled support over the university’s mishandling of the situation.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft – who lent his name to the campus’ Center for Jewish Life – announced on Monday that he was stopping his donations in light of how Jewish students had been treated on and around campus.

Meanwhile, 208 people were arrested at an anti-Israel protest at Grand Army Plaza Tuesday night, according to police.