Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested after blocking roadways outside New York’s John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles International Airports on a peak travel season, as they demanded a ceasefire in Gaza.
A group of pro-Palestine demonstrators on Wednesday blocked traffic heading to Kennedy International Airport in New York City during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year, according to the Port Authority Police Department.
The protesters blocked the entrance road to JFK Airport to bring attention to the humanitarian right to return home, which Palestinians have been denied for decades.
During the demonstration, the protesters held hands, creating a line across the highway, chanting “From the sea to the river, Palestine will be free,” as they carried banners with messages, including “Divest From Genocide,” “Let Gaza Live” and “Right to Return.”
Police said 26 people were taken into custody for disorderly conduct and impeding vehicular traffic and the roadway was reopened 20 minutes later.
Videos posted on social media showed passengers, some carrying suitcases, leaving vehicles behind and stepping over barriers onto the highway median.
About an hour later, pro-Palestinian protesters blocked traffic on West Century Boulevard near the entrance to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Thirty-six people were taken into custody at LAX, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, most of them on charges of rioting and at least one was arrested for battery on a police officer.
On Saturday, pro-Palestinian activists organized a similar demonstration in Chicago. A nearly 100-car caravan led by the group “US Palestinian Community Network” confronted state lawmakers and blocked roads leading into O’Hare International Airport, according to news reports.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza, various US states have been the scene of widespread demonstrations in support of Palestinians. The pro-Palestinian protesters are pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza, blaming the war on the United States’ unconditional support for the Israeli regime.
The Israeli regime waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the occupying entity in response to the Israeli regime’s atrocities against Palestinians.
Since the start of the US-backed offensive, the Israeli regime has killed over 21,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 55,000 others.
Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble in the Gaza Strip, which is under “complete siege” by Israel.
