San Francisco police arrest dozens at Israeli Consulate

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - San Francisco police arrested 70 pro-Palestinian protestors Monday in the lobby of a building that houses the Israeli Consulate.

"Officers developed probable cause to arrest 70 suspects who refused to vacate the building," police said in a statement.

No casualties were reported.

According to social media posts, the protestors, who demanded a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, posted signs saying "Anti Zionism Is Not Anti Semitism” and "From The Sea To The River, Palestine Will Live Forever" on the front doors.

Chanting "Free, free Palestine," the protestors were seen with their hands bound by zip ties as police officers removed them from the building.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in the enclave, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 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 stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.