320 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested after demonstration in New York

New York (Uttam Hindu News): At least 320 pro-Palestine protesters were arrested after demonstrating in New York City and blocking traffic on several bridges for more than two hours.

More than 1,000 protesters blocked traffic to and from downtown Manhattan on the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and the Holland Tunnel at Mondau, CNN reported.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted, “Liberate Palestine.” They also held banners and signs that read, “Ceasefire Now” and “America Stop Arming Israel.”

In a statement, the Palestinian Youth Movement, which led Monday’s demonstration, said protesters were demanding five key demands – a permanent ceasefire, the US government ending arming the Israeli regime, ending the siege of Gaza, ending the Zionist occupation and All Palestinians are demanding the release of political prisoners.

The protests caused “massive traffic jams” throughout lower Manhattan, including SoHo, Tribeca and Hudson Square, as well as the New Jersey exit.

The organizer claimed that the blockade on the bridges caused “a standoff throughout the Financial District and the Lower East Side.”

All lanes on the bridges and tunnels were reopened at 11:15 a.m., CNN reported, citing the New York City Police Department.

“Our aim today was to block the arteries of New York City to draw attention to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza,” Jamil Madbak, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, told CNN.

“Protests are important to keep up the pressure, to show that the US government and the media are accountable to those who are demanding an end to this genocide.”

However, the protest was condemned by New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Addressing the media after the protest, the mayor said, “The right to protest does not give anyone the right to block bridges and tunnels, as we saw this morning. The aim is to protest peacefully without causing any major disruption in the city.”

”We need to make every possible effort to eliminate anything that takes the lives of innocent people. But Hamas must be destroyed. They are a terrorist organization. “His barbaric act on October 7 should not be ignored.”