Hundreds of protesters descended on the Yemeni Mission in NYC Friday night to denounce the US military’s attack on Houthi rebels in response to the militants’ attack on a shipping vessel in the Red Sea.
Protesters in the group attacked a couple carrying an Israeli flag during a “Hands Off Yemen” rally outside the United Nations mission at East 51st Street and 1st Avenue in Midtown.
The couple tried to wade through the crowd with their dog when the man was pushed away and the Israeli flag was snatched from their hands by protesters who tried to set it on fire.
“Long live Hamas, you s–t!” a man waving a “Free Palestine” flag shouted at the couple, who were separated from the rest of the crowd.
The local man and woman, who did not want to be identified, told The Post they were heading to the dog park when they saw a swarm of protesters blocking their path.
The man said he ran back into his apartment and grabbed an Israeli flag before trying to break through the crowd – and was rebuffed.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside the United Nations building. James Keivom
“The next step, I promise you, the next time they will support ISIS,” the angry man, who was born in Israel, said of the protesters. “Because ISIS hates America, therefore, ISIS is good. It’s beyond crazy what’s going on here.”
Other chants heard from the crowd included, “From the river to the sea, Yemen will be free!” and “Gaza calls, Yemen answers. All Israeli boats are cancelled” before they start marching.
Some held signs reading “Hands off Yemen” and “F–k you Biden” while others shouted “Genocide Joe has got to go.”
Demonstrators waved flags for Yemen and Palestine during the rally. James Keivom
At one point, a man waving an Israeli flag walked up to the protesters and started yelling at them.
“They are pro-Palestinian and have never been to Palestine!” he yelled at the protesters and pushed them away before they surrounded him.
Outside the Horny Ram pub on 2nd Avenue, a man told protesters to “Go back to Palestine.”
“We want!” one of them shot back.
Some protesters were seen scraping “Stand with Israel” stickers from lampposts as they marched. Others were seen tearing up posters for kidnapped Israelis.
A protester holds a watermelon — which has become a symbol of Palestine. James Keivom
“Yeah! F–k Israel!” one of them gave encouragement as he watched.
Outside the United Nations, Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the pro-Palestinian organization Within Our Lifetime, claimed, “The people of Yemen and the people of Palestine are the only free people because we resist by any means necessary.”
“We do not believe in your courts, your institutions, your government. The United States, the United Kingdom, all puppets of the normalizing Arab Zionist regime…We only believe in resistance,” he said.
“As long as there is resistance in Palestine and Yemen, as long as there are restrictions on Yemen and Gaza, we will stand up against it,” Kiswani said.
The protests were in response to US military strikes on Houthi rebels and the ongoing war in Gaza. James Keivom
It was not immediately clear if any arrests were made, according to police.
The United States and the United Kingdom led strikes on about 30 Houthi targets in Yemen on Thursday after the Iran-backed rebels launched their “largest attack yet” on a shipping vessel in the Red Sea, President Biden announced.
The Houthis, who control the majority of the impoverished country, have attacked and seized cargo ships passing through the critical Red Sea shipping corridor in recent weeks in support of Hamas since the militant group’s war with Israel broke out.
Rebels have targeted 27 ships so far.
Houthi leaders say US strikes have killed five people, prompting massive anti-American rallies in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa. The US carried out additional smaller strikes in Yemen on Friday night, officials told CNN.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
