Activists protesting the war in Gaza shut down Highway 101 on the Golden Gate Bridge Monday morning, snarling the commute into San Francisco and resulting in multiple arrests.
Quick Read
- Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations in Chicago and California: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked key traffic arteries in Chicago and California to protest U.S. support for Israel in the Gaza conflict. In Chicago, protesters halted traffic leading to three terminals at O’Hare International Airport, while in California, activists disrupted traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge and parts of Interstate 880 in the East Bay.
- Blockade Intentions: The demonstrations were described as part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine.” The organizers aimed to draw attention to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the U.S. role in it.
- Impact on Traffic and Arrests: The protests caused significant traffic delays. The California Highway Patrol responded by closing affected roadways and making arrests, though the exact number of detained protesters was not specified immediately.
- Public Advisory: Authorities and organizers advised commuters to seek alternative transportation routes due to severe disruptions caused by the demonstrations.
The Associated Press has the story:
Pro-Palestinian protesters block San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge
Newslooks- CHICAGO —(AP)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked a freeway leading to three Chicago O’Hare International Airport terminals Monday morning, temporarily stopping vehicle traffic into one of the nation’s busiest airports and causing headaches for travelers.
Protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 around 7 a.m., a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers. Traffic in the San Francisco Bay Area was also snarled for hours Monday morning as pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down both directions of the Golden Gate Bridge and stalled a 17-mile (27-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 880 in Oakland.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked a freeway leading to three Chicago O’Hare International Airport terminals Monday morning, temporarily stopping vehicle traffic into one of the nation’s busiest airports and causing headaches for travelers.
Protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 around 7 a.m., a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers. Similar demonstrations blocking a freeway in California’s Bay Area also took place Monday.
O’Hare warned travelers on the social platform X to take alternative forms of transportation with car travel “substantially delayed this morning due to protest activity.”
Activists protesting the war in Gaza shut down Highway 101 on the Golden Gate Bridge Monday morning, snarling the commute into San Francisco and resulting in multiple arrests.
At around 7:30 a.m. Monday, dozens of protesters stopped their vehicles and blocked all southbound lanes of the span, demanding the U.S. stop arming and funding Israel in the war in Gaza, organizers say.
The California Highway Patrol issued a Sig-alert at about 8:10 a.m. for the southbound direction of the bridge. Later, the CHP closed off the northbound lanes as well. They also halted pedestrian and bicycle traffic across the span.
At about 10:30 a.m., CHP Marin said on social media it had started making arrests, but it did not say how many protesters it would be taking into custody.
Other Gaza war protests happened simultaneously in the East Bay, where all lanes of northbound Interstate 880 at Fifth Avenue in Oakland were blocked for hours and another protest emerged on I-880 at I-980 farther north in Oakland.
O’Hare warned travelers on the social platform X to take alternative forms of transportation with car travel “substantially delayed this morning due to protest activity.”
Some travelers stuck in standstill traffic left their cars and walked the final leg to the airport along the freeway, trailing their luggage behind them.
Among them was Madeline Hannan from suburban Chicago. She was headed to O’Hare for a work trip to Florida when her and her husband’s car ended up stalled for 20 minutes. She got out and “both ran and speed walked” more than 1 mile. She said she made it to the gate on time, but barely.
“This was an inconvenience,” she said in a telephone interview from Florida. “But in the grand scheme of things going on overseas, it’s a minor inconvenience.”
While individual travelers may have been affected, operations at the airport appeared near normal with delays of under 15 minutes, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
Inbound traffic toward O’Hare resumed around 9 a.m.
On the Golden Gate Bridge in California, a small number of demonstrators stood by, as did police. Some protesters held a black banner that read “Stop the world for Gaza.” The iconic bridge was closed off to all auto traffic, bicyclists and pedestrians.
In Chicago, dozens of protesters were arrested, according to Falaneh. Chicago police said Monday that “multiple people” were taken into custody after a protest where people obstructed traffic but did not have a detailed count.
Protesters say they chose the location, in part, because O’Hare is one of the largest airports. Among other things, they’ve called for an immediate ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Anti- war protesters have demonstrated in Chicago near daily since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people. Israeli warplanes and ground troops have conducted a scorched-earth campaign on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
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