Gaza protest organizers say police assaulted peaceful marchers
(BCN) — Protestors calling for a Gaza cease-fire said San Francisco police used pepper spray and batons on pro-Palestinian marchers outside the Israeli consulate Saturday.
The confrontation took place about 2:30 p.m. at Montgomery and Sacramento streets, where barricades blocked access to the consulate, said Wassim Hage, a spokesman for the Arab Resource and Organizing Center.
Thousands rally for ceasefire in San Francisco
One person suffered a broken hand and five to 10 were affected by pepper spray as they pressed against the barricade, he said.
Hage said the protestors, who called for an end to U.S. support for Israel in the war with Hamas, were peaceful until the police “attacked.”
Police said the protest “became violent.”
The group “began to commit crimes ranging from assault to felony vandalism and causing property damage,” police said in a statement. “A few of the officers at the scene suffered non-life-threatening injuries.”
“This remains an open and active investigation.”
Protest organizers called the police tactics “shameful.”
“SFPD’s violence today against a peace protest is yet another appalling attack on our already vulnerable San Francisco community,” Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, said in a statement. “We have the right to have our voices heard as Israel kills ten of thousands of our people in Palestine, with U.S. support.”
Saturday’s protest came one day before San Francisco Mayor London Breed is to join community leaders for the Unity March: Standing Together Against Anti-Semitism.
“In San Francisco, we stand strong as we unite against all hate, including against anyone in our Jewish community, and we welcome all those who celebrate love and peace in our great city,” Breed said in a statement released Friday by Unity March organizers.
The war began Oct. 7 when the militant group Hamas attacked Israel killing 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the war has surpassed 30,000.
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