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(A7) Multiple anti-Israel protesters were arrested on Monday after they used cars to halt traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge and two major tunnels during rush hour, the NYPD said, according to The New York Post.
The demonstrators were inside an “unknown [number] of vehicles” when they blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and in the Holland Tunnel and Queens-Midtown Tunnel around 8:00 a.m., according to police.
What could be worse than normal Monday morning traffic ? Groups of people intentionally trying to shut down the bridges and tunnels of New York – making your commute longer, blocking emergency vehicles and grinding the city to a halt. So far this morning we made 13 arrests and… pic.twitter.com/4hmY99zDRo
— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) February 12, 2024
Seven protesters were arrested and four vehicles were seized during the Holland Tunnel holdup, a Port Authority Police spokeswoman said.
They were charged with interfering with transportation and disorderly conduct, the representative said, adding that traffic was ultimately “managed to allow vehicles to continue moving.”
The NYPD also made a number of arrests, but was unable to provide a count by the early Monday afternoon.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said in a post on X that 13 people were detained.
“What could be worse than normal Monday morning traffic? Groups of people intentionally trying to shut down the bridges and tunnels of New York – making your commute longer, blocking emergency vehicles and grinding the city to a halt. So far this morning we made 13 arrests and seized 8 cars. The locations were the Brooklyn Bridge, Midtown Tunnel and the Holland Tunnel,” he wrote.
Anti-Israel protests have been on the rise in New York, as well as in other cities in the US, since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza.
In late December, 26 protesters were arrested during an anti-Israel demonstration that blocked a road to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
A day later, pro-Palestinian Arab protesters shut down the entrance to the World Trade Center in New York City.
At the start of January, anti-Israel protesters yelling inflammatory chants stopped traffic and caused chaos as they descended upon John F. Kennedy International Airport.
A week later, in a demonstration similar to Monday’s, anti-Israel protesters blocked Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge, and Holland Tunnel.
