Chaos erupted between anti-Israel protesters and police in Brooklyn after thousands flooded a predominantly Arab and Middle Eastern neighborhood Saturday night.
Held in Bay Ridge, the protests saw thousands of the pro-Palestinian demonstration chant ‘move, cops, get out the way. We know you’re Israeli-trained’ as they descended on the community, stopping traffic and lighting fires in the process.
The protesters, part of a procession billed online as Flood Brooklyn for Palestine, began to clash with cops as night fell, video shows – as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000 over the course of the day.
Officers from the NYPD were subsequently filmed trying to usher them out of a intersection along Fifth Avenue where they had shut down traffic, during which an unspecified number of pro-Palestinians were arrested and taken into custody.
Several were seen punching protesters in the fray, which came after ralliers gathered to demand the US withdraw support for Israel. Armed with Palestinian flags and signs, much of the group refused to comply with cops’ demands.
More to come.
Chaos erupted between anti-Israel protesters and police in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Saturday night – after thousands flooded the predominantly Arab and Middle Eastern neighborhood to demand the US stop supporting the country
Several were seen punching protesters in the fray, which reached a tipping point in the evening after swelling to about 5,000 protesters. Armed with Palestinian flags and signs, much of the group refused to comply with cops’ demands
‘Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here!’ protesters city were heard shouting from within the frenzy, which, thanks to police, was confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue.
‘We will free Palestine within our lifetime!’ others cried, touting signs reading, ‘We stand with Palestine,’ and, ‘Once upon a time… There was humanity,’ along with other similar sentiments.
Meanwhile, other, more radical revelers – who ranged in age from preteens to seniors – clutched signage with scrawlings that insisted ‘Zionism is genocide,’ and that ‘Resistance is justified when people are occupied.’
The messages appeared to disregard – and even exonerate – the crimes carried out by Hamas since October 9, including the kidnapping of several Israeli and American citizens in an apparent declaration of war.
While the conflict is now underway overseas, domestic divisions have since surfaced stateside – spurring dueling demonstrations across the nation.
Bay Ridge on Saturday was no different – despite pro-Israelis being kept away from the procession by members of the NYPD.
Footage from the neighborhood over the course of the night, though, showed how the demonstration still devolved – as officers tasked with keeping a handle on the chaos quickly found themselves overwhelmed as the group grew.
‘Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here!’ protesters city were heard shouting from within the frenzy, which, thanks to police, was confined to the most part around 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue
The protesters, part of a procession billed online as Flood Brooklyn for Palestine , began to clash with cops as night fell, video shows – as their numbers swelled to an estimated 5,000
Officers from the NYPD were subsequently filmed trying to usher them out of a intersection along Fifth Avenue where they had shut down traffic, during which an unspecified number of pro-Palestinians were arrested and taken into custody
Meanwhile, other radical revelers – who ranged in age from preteens to seniors – clutched signage with scrawlings that insisted ‘Zionism is genocide,’ and that ‘Resistance is justified when people are occupied’
The messages appeared to disregard – and even exonerate – the crimes carried out by Hamas since October 9, including the kidnapping of several Israeli and American citizens
While the conflict is now underway overseas, domestic divisions have since surfaced stateside – spurring similar demonstrations across the nation
Bay Ridge on Saturday was no different – despite pro-Israelis being kept away from the procession by members of the NYPD
Held in one of the city’s largest Arab and Middle Eastern communities, the protests saw thousands of pro-Palestinians chant ‘move, cops, get out the way. We know you’re Israeli-trained’ as they descended on the community, stopping traffic and lighting fires in the process
Amid the furor, one protestor was heard calling for the ‘full liberation of all of Palestine… to every single inch, from river to the sea.’
Donning a T-shirt of one of the event’s organizers, the Palestinian-led Within Our Lifetime, the woman also reportedly shouted: ‘We are not like other groups simply calling for a cease-fire; We are calling not simply for an end to genocide.’
Instead, she said, ‘We are calling for an end to the siege, an end to the blockade.
‘An end to the occupation,’ she specified.
Thousands of other women attended the rally, which at first started peacefully but devolved shortly after the sun set.
Aside from the local Palestinian community, several members of other groups – for the most part Middle Eastern – were also in attendance, for a gathering that Within Our Lifetime advertised as a means to ‘end US-sponsored genocide in Gaza.’
The demonstration – dubbed Flood Brooklyn for Palestine – first gathered earlier, with initially peaceful revelers shouting chants like ‘We will free Palestine within our lifetime!’, as other held signs that read ‘We stand with Palestine,’ and, ‘Once upon a time… There was humanity’
Aside from the local Palestinian community, several members of other groups – for the most part Middle Eastern – were also in attendance, for a gathering that Within Our Lifetime advertised as a means to ‘end US-sponsored genocide in Gaza’
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247
