Pro-Palestinian Demonstrators Take Over Grand Central, Six Arrested
November 11, 2023
Six people were arrested as hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Manhattan, bringing traffic at Grand Central Terminal to a crawl, police said Saturday. Four of the six protesters arrested were charged with disorderly conduct. A fourth protester was a young teen and charged as a juvenile. The sixth was injured and taken to New York Presbyterian-Lower Manhattan Hospital to be treated for a minor injury before he was charged, cops said. The protesters were demanding a cease fire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas so innocent civilians in Gaza could get out of the war zone. Demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and holding signs reading “End the Genocide!” met up at Columbus Circle Friday afternoon before marching through Times Square and finally to Grand Central Terminal, where they blocked access to the massive train hub. At least one cop suffered a minor injury during the protest, according to preliminary reports. On Thursday afternoon, about 100 pro-Palestine protesters broke off from a much larger demonstration in Midtown and stormed the lobby of the New York Times building at the corner of Eighth Ave. and W. 41st St. Outside, a demonstrator set off a smoke bomb as 30 others breached the lobby. While in the building’s lobby, a person spray-painted “blood on your hands,” “boycott,” “free Gaza” and “free Palestine.” Protesters vandalized two marked NYPD police cruisers outside of the Times building, scrawling “f–k IDF KKK” and “Free Gaza” on both. No arrests were made. Protests over the conflict in the Gaza strip have become an almost daily occurrence in New York City as hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims continue to surge. Since the war started with a series of sneak attacks on Israeli communities near Gaza on Oct. 7, the NYPD has investigated 82 anti-Semitic incidents, 31 more than the previous year. There have also been eight hate crimes against Muslims. This time last year there were none, cops said.