Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan was temporarily closed, and train service was suspended, yesterday after a mob of pro-Hamas demonstrators filled the streets of New York City to protest Israel’s incursion into Gaza. Some tried to break into the closed station by smashing the doors, in an effort to lash out at the police inside the station.
The pro-Hamas rally began at 5 p.m. Friday with over thousands of people marching through the streets. Some tore down posters of the hostages being held by Hamas terrorists and crumpled them up as other demonstrators burned an Israeli flag.
According to an Instagram post from organizers Within Our Lifetime and City University of New York for Palestine, the protest’s purpose was to “flood Manhattan for Gaza.”
“Gaza calls, we respond. Palestine will be free, because when we resist we win together. Cease genocide. Cease the siege. Cease the blockade. Cease occupation. Cease funding Israel. Cease settler colonization. Cease Zionism. Cease imperialism,” it said.
Video from the protest yesterday showed one protester climbing up a streetpost to tear down American flags while hundreds of protesters gathered and cheered nearby.
“You are unlawfully in the roadway. If you remain in the roadway and refuse to use the sidewalk, you will be placed under arrest and charged with disorderly conduct,” a NYPD officer told protesters through a megaphone.
By 9 p.m., there were large numbers of demonstrators outside of Grand Central Terminal, causing authorities to close the station for three hours. It reopened around midnight.
In video on social media, a horde of protesters could be seen trying to get into the terminal by violently kicking the glass doors, which were locked, ultimately causing damage to one. Cops could be seen inside the terminal.
