San Francisco: Police on Monday arrested pro-Palestinian demonstrators who occupied the lobby of a San Francisco building that houses the Israeli Consulate.
It was not immediately clear how many people were taken into custody but AP journalists saw police zip-tie the hands of about 50 people. Officers then put them in police vans and drove them away.
A group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators entered the building and occupied it for several hours on 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.
About five protesters remained inside the building by late afternoon as officers processed detainees outside.
Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest Marco Sermoneta said the protesters arrived around 9 am 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.
San Francisco police officers were standing guard outside the building and told an AP journalist that it was not open to the public.
Earlier on 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.
Israel faces growing international criticism over its offensive in Gaza, in which more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel blames Hamas militants for civilian deaths, accusing it of operating from dense residential areas.
Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel triggered the war. Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. About 80 hostages in Gaza are believed to be alive, along with the bodies of 30 more.
