Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters violently clash with NYPD and take over bridge in The Bronx during Memorial Day rally
Crowds of pro-Palestine protesters took over a New York City bridge and clashed with police during a Memorial Day rally in The Bronx which called for the U.S. to stop sending aid to Israel.
The demonstration took place in an area of the borough known as Little Yemen.
Flag-waving protesters could be seen waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners saying 'Zionism is Nazism' and 'defund Israel'.
At one stage, eight protesters climbed on to the structure of the bridge before police urged them to come back down and they were arrested.
'From The Bronx To Gaza, Palestine will be Free!' the Bronx group chanted.
The protest began in the late afternoon, just over a week since a cease-fire ended 11 days of intense fighting between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and which has continued to hold.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters showed up to a rally in the Bronx on Memorial Day Monday
A number of protesters climbed a bridge to wave Palestinian flags from the top resulting in a standoff with police
Police were powerless as protesters scaled a bridge in the Bronx to wave flags, despite the presence of electrical wires
'From The Bronx To Gaza, Palestine will be Free!' the group chanted with many protesters holding red, white, green and black Palestinian flags.
A drone photo shows hundreds holding banners and Palestinian flags gather in the Little Yemen district of the Bronx
'From The Bronx To Gaza, Palestine will be Free!' the group chanted with many protesters holding red, white, green and black Palestinian flags
The protest was organized by three New York based groups, Within our Lifetime, United for Palestine and NY4Palestine which want to see an end to the blockading of Gaza by Israel.
The group hopes to press the US government to hold Tel Aviv accountable for its human rights violations and its occupation of Palestinian territories.
At least 254 Palestinians were killed, including 66 children and 39 women, and 1,910 wounded, in Israeli strikes in Gaza according to the local Health Ministry. Twelve people in Israel were killed by Palestinian rocket attacks.
Pro-Palestine protestors are arrested for climbing on a bridge whilst attending a protest in the Bronx, New York on Monday
Several men were arrested after they decided to scale the bridge as part of the protests
By the time the protesters decided to come down from the bridge, several police officers were ready and waiting for them
One man who climbed up the bridge was frogmarched towards a waiting police car following his antics
A family were able to watch from the doorstep of their home as the protesters passed by
A protest similar in vein, but in far greater numbers also took place in Washington D.C. over the Memorial Day weekend as a march took place from the Lincoln Memorial, along the mall to the White House.
'We are hoping to send a clear message to the United States government that the days of supporting the Israeli state without repercussions are over,' one of the demonstrators, 39-year-old Washington lawyer Sharif Silmi, said to VOA.
'We will stand against any politician that continues to fund weapons to Israel. We will oppose them, we will vote against them, we will fund their opponents, until we vote them out of office,' Silmi said.
Lama Alahmad, a resident of Virginia who is of Palestinian origin, said that U.S. public opinion is turning in favor of the Palestinian cause.
Flags were waved proudly as protesters made their point on Monday evening in the Bronx area of Little Yemen
Around eight people managed to scale various heights of the bridge despite overhead power lines being extremely close by
Police can be seen waiting for two men to climb back down from the bridge during the protest
Upon making it back down to solid ground, the men were arrested. It is not clear if they faced any charges
Supporters of Palestine watched the protest from the sidewalk as the crowd marched by
A family eating food in a Middle Eastern restaurant is ale to steer clear of the protests right outside their window
'There is a huge change' going on in the U.S. with regard to the Palestinian cause to secure a sovereign homeland, Alahmad said.
'We just want the world to recognize that we are human beings. We are not terrorists,' said Alahmad, a 43-year-old stay-at-home mother who grew up in the United Arab Emirates before moving to the U.S. about 20 years ago.
Silmi insisted there was growing opposition in the U.S. to how Israel treats the Palestinians, which he likened to apartheid in South Africa.
'People have now woken up, and we're resisting. Whether young Jews, young Muslims, young blacks, young whites, there is a generational shift. And people are working across ethnic groups, racial groups, to work for change and freedom and liberation for Palestinian people,' Silmi said.
Pro-Palestine protestors are arrested for climbing on a bridge whilst attending a protest in the Bronx
Supporters of Palestine waved both the flag of Palestine and that of Yemen, seen right
Supporters waved Palestinian flags in support of the Gazan people
Women hold signs above heir heads showing their support for the Palestinian people
Hundreds holding banners and Palestinian flags gather at the Little Yemen district of Bronx and take streets to protest Israeli aggression against Palestinians, in New York City
Signs helped to make the supporters messages even clearer with various statements and statistics
Colorful and creative signs filled the streets of Little Yemen on Monday afternoon during the protest
An Ultra-Orthodox Jew, or Haredi, left, is pictured showing his support for Palestine alongside others at a protest in the Bronx
A member of Neturei Karta, a fringe ultra-Orthodox Jewish movement within the anti-Zionist bloc, carries Palestinian flags
A drone photo shows hundreds holding banners and Palestinian flags gather at the Little Yemen district of Bronx
Supporters of Palestine hold a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC earlier in the weekend
Pro-Palestine protestors marched from the Lincoln Memorial during the ''National March for Palestine'' along Constitution Avenue as a small group of protestors gathered in front of the White House
Thousands of supporters of the Palestinians rally during the National March for Palestine demonstration on Saturday
Supporters of the Palestinians hold photographs of Palestinian children who where killed by Israel during the National March for Palestine demonstration at Lincoln Memorial, in Washington
The 'National March for Palestine' is urging the Biden administration to end US weapons transfer to Israel, as well as sanctioning and holding Israel accountable for 'the war crimes it commits against the Palestinian people'
Supporters of Palestine wave Palestine flags as they hold a rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC this weekend
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