Watch: More Than 300 Pro-Palestinian Protesters Arrested for Blocking NYC Bridges, Holland Tunnel

Pro-Palestine New York
Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

A massive mob of anti-Israel protesters took over three New York City bridges and Manhattan’s Holland Tunnel, leading to more than 300 arrests Monday morning.

The swarm of “Shut it Down for Palestine” demonstrators rallied through City Hall Park before descending upon the tunnel, as well as the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Manhattan Bridges.

Footage obtained by BreakThrough News shows members of the group standing, sitting, and holding banners across the roadways. 

“You’re disrupting traffic, idiots!” one driver yelled as he was blocked in by the protesters at an intersection at the Williamsburg Bridge.

“You can’t do that! It’s against the law,” he shouted, as another man recording the incident yelled, “Hit ’em all! Run ’em over!”

The driver then got out of his vehicle, shoved three of the protesters, and warned them to stay away from his car as he screamed, “I have a daughter in Brooklyn! … I have to get home!”

Eventually, the group of demonstrators backed off.

A local ABC affiliate reported that the New Jersey-bound lanes of the Holland Tunnel were blocked off by the protesters, leading to Port Authority police arresting 120 protesters and reopening the tunnel just after 10:30 a.m.

After the arrests began, the swarm chanted, “NYPD, KKK, IDF, they’re all the same!” comparing the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

At least 40 demonstrators took over the Brooklyn Bridge around 10:00 a.m., according to the New York Post

Police descended upon the bridge, with some having to saw through the protesters’ chains. 

As police lined up cuffed demonstrators to be transported via bus, they chanted, “Out of Syria, out of Iraq, out of Palestine, don’t come back.”

More footage obtained by BreakThrough News shows the NYPD carrying out mass arrests on the Manhattan Bridge as well.

The Brooklyn Bridge reopened to traffic shortly before 11:00 a.m., while the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges reopened around 11:30 a.m., according to ABC7NY. 

In total, more than 330 people were arrested in connection to the demonstrations, and many will likely face misdemeanor charges with desk appearance tickets.

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