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70 demonstrators arrested at Israeli Consulate
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Monday in San Francisco, according to police.
SAN FRANCISCO - Police on Monday arrested 70 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied the lobby of a San Francisco building that houses the Israeli Consulate.
Roughly 100 demonstrators had entered the building, a spokesperson for the consulate said.
Police zip-tied the hands of protesters, put them in police vans, and drove them away.
A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took over the lobby of the building and occupied it for several hours Monday. The protesters posted signs on the front doors of the building calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Police officers made multiple warnings ordering the demonstrators to leave before they moved in and started detaining people, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.
Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Marco Sermoneta said the protesters arrived around 9 a.m. at the Financial District’s high-rise but didn’t enter the consulate’s offices. He said his office was telling people that they might need to change their appointments.
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Protesters take over Israeli Consulate lobby
Several protesters were detained after occupying the lobby of the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco on Monday.
Earlier Monday, protesters had told the San Francisco Chronicle that they would not leave until they were forced to do so. Police blocked the front doors of the building before ordering the demonstrators to leave. Protesters inside could be heard chanting.
"The Israeli Consulate, zionist organizations that support this genocide, the U.S. government offices, and elected officials should expect to be disrupted as they continue to be complicit in a genocide that has killed 40,000 people," said Sara, a demonstrator who wished to only provide her first name.
Israel has faced growing international criticism for its strategy of systematic destruction in Gaza, at a huge cost in civilian lives. Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in the besieged territory have killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
The top United Nations court has concluded there is a "plausible risk of genocide" in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.