Pro-Palestine protest ends in multiple arrests on Christmas Day in New York
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police during a demonstration in the streets of New York City on Christmas Day.
Six people were arrested and at least one police officer suffered minor injuries from a fall while assisting a colleague, an NYPD spokesperson said.
The protest began outside Fox News’ headquarters on 6th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan at around 2pm, before approximately 500 demonstrators headed over to 5th Avenue and surrounded the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
Protesters carried a mock nativity scene and chanted “Christmas is cancelled” as they renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A small number of demonstrators were involved in scuffles with police officers as the crowd moved downtown towards Union Square. The NYPD briefly moved to a “level three” mobilisation, the department’s second highest alert, in response.
Four men and two women were charged with offenses including disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief, an NYPD spokesperson said. The injured police officer was in a stable condition.
In Washington DC, demonstrators also protested at the homes of Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
Rallies have occurred on almost a daily basis across the US over the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s devastating retaliatory campaign in Gaza.
Israel launched an invasion of the strip that is home to more than two million Palestinians after Hamas terror attacks on 7 October left 1,200 people dead and saw hundreds more taken hostage.
The US vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution and voted against a General Assembly resolution demanding immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza earlier this month.
