Hundreds Rally In New York To Decry Israeli Attacks Against Palestinians In Gaza

NEW YORK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th May, 2021) New York City residents took to the streets in midtown Manhattan to protest the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

Hundreds of demonstrators, many of whom were waving Palestinian flags and wearing checkered "keffiyeh" scarves, gathered on Tuesday afternoon in front of the Consulate General of Israel in New York.

"From the river to the sea - Palestine will be free," one of the protest leaders could be heard shouting in a megaphone supported by a large crowd of people carrying placards in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. The placards read "Stop bombing innocent children," "Free Palestine," "Palestine will never die," among others.

Many of those participating in the protest also carried placards pointing to the US military support for Israel in the renewed escalation. Signs with messages such as "Your tax Dollars are funding a genocide" and "End all US aid to Israel" could be also be seen carried by protesters.

Some protesters wearing Palestinian insignia climbed on lamp posts, while others made their way onto the scaffolding of nearby buildings, producing loud cheers from the crowd.

Heavy police presence was seen around the United Nations headquarters located a couple of streets away from the site of the protest.

A UN security guard told Sputnik the heightened security was related to fears that the demonstrators might come close to the organization's premises.

The UN Security Council has been criticized, including by Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour, for its failure to call in one voice for a ceasefire in the middle East.

After holding three meetings on the issue over the course of one week, the UN security Council remained intact on the issue as the United States continued to block statements decrying violence in Gaza.

The current episode of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict broke out last week after civil unrest in East Jerusalem, prompting hostilities on the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip, with Palestinian militants having launched approximately 3,700 rockets against Israel and the latter retaliating with airstrikes.