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At least 25 people have been arrested in New York, police have said
Several pro-Palestinian activists have been arrested after briefly disrupting a Thanksgiving Day parade in New York, local police have said.
The demonstrators, wearing face masks and disposable raincoats, obstructed a procession on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on Thursday, blocking a giant Ronald McDonald balloon.
They chanted “Free Palestine,” held up Palestinian flags, and unfurled a large banner with slogans including “Do not celebrate genocide,” “Land back,” and “Arms embargo now!”
The parade was halted for at least five minutes before the police intervened and removed the protesters from the scene.
A total of 25 people were detained. “The demonstrators were taken into custody without incident,” the New York Police Department said in a statement.
However, the New York Post said its journalists saw at least one of the protesters struggling with the officers. Some of the demonstrators were handled roughly by the police, and were pushed onto the asphalt before being handcuffed, the paper added.
“This is disgusting,” one of the officers told the New York Post. “There are times and places to peacefully protest, but not the Thanksgiving Day parade. This is a day for families to enjoy and not be interrupted by these a**holes.”
BREAKING: Autonomous anti-genocide activists bring the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to a grinding halt after blockading the McDonald’s float for a second year in a row. pic.twitter.com/Aj6XRsUF9T
— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) November 28, 2024
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also disrupted a Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023, resulting in around 40 arrests.
The activists are calling for a halt to the Israeli military operation in Gaza, launched after the Palestinian armed group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.
READ MORE: Hamas says it’s ready for ceasefire
In the Israeli ground and air onslaught since then, at least 44,330 Palestinians have been killed and 104,933 others wounded, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.