New York police arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators after clashes outside Brooklyn Museum

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – New York police arrested several pro-Palestinian demonstrators after clashes outside the Brooklyn Museum, where hundreds of people gathered on Friday afternoon to condemn Israel for its nearly seven-month bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 36,000 Palestinians.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators swarmed the Brooklyn Museum, and protests began around 4 p.m. in Fort Greene, where they planned to march near the Barclays Center to condemn the ongoing Israeli military attacks, according to local media.

The art museum said it closed an hour early because of the disruption, which included skirmishes between police and protesters both inside and outside the building.

The Brooklyn Museum administration says it did not call the police department, but police arrived on the scene and clashed with demonstrators, making arrests as well.

Arrests were made, but the exact number of people detained is unknown, CBS News reported, citing the New York City Police Department.

The protest took place on the same day that US President Joe Biden announced Israel's offer of a new cease-fire proposal, as Tel Aviv continues its push into Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, despite strong condemnation from the international community.

Biden said Israel presented the Palestinian resistance group Hamas with a three-phase deal to end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave.

The US president appealed to Hamas to accept the deal and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stave off pressure from members of his governing coalition who oppose it.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 81,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.