Thousands of NYC protesters demand eradication of Israel

Thousands of protesters demanding eradication of Israel clash with NYPD

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Thousands of anti-Israel protesters clashed with police Saturday night after they refused to vacate the Bay Ridge street they had flooded for hours.

The “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” demonstration descended into chaos as night fell, with protesters completely shutting down traffic, screaming at police and lighting small fires in the middle of the roadways.

The aggressive protesters dug in their heels when the NYPD tried to push them out of 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue, where 5,000 demonstrators converged earlier in the day to demand that the United States withdraw support for its closest ally in the Middle East.

Officers began plucking individuals out of the massive flood — as well as from the inside of one pickup truck carrying ralliers — of the Palestinian flag-waving horde in an effort to quell the out-of-control rally.

“It got pretty heated,” a law enforcement source told The Post.

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A young teenager was seen trying to hold an older woman carrying a “Zionism is Genocide” sign who was being yanked by two officers.

Some rioters lobbed eggs at the swarming cops.

Protesters continued shouting in the streets, as well as chanting over small fires they set up in the road.

The NYPD confirmed that approximately two dozen people were taken into custody during the chaos, but it was unclear whether those detained by police were formally arrested or issued summonses.

The overwhelming demonstration kicked off hours earlier in one of the largest Arab and Middle Eastern communities in New York City

“We are calling for full liberation of all of Palestine … to every single inch, from river to the sea,” shouted one protester, repeating a refrain used by Hamas terrorists and their anti-Israel backers.

Follow along with The Post’s live blog for the latest on Hamas’ attack on Israel

“We are not like other groups simply calling for a cease-fire,” added the woman, wearing a T-shirt of one of the event’s organizers, the radical leftist group Within Our Lifetime.

“We are calling not simply for an end to genocide. We are calling for an end to the siege, an end to the blockade. An end to the occupation.”

The anti-Israel mob included all ages, from young children to 20-somethings to gray-haired elders.

“Say it loud, say it clear, we don’t want no Zionists here!” protesters chanted while beating on drums and waving Palestinian flags.

“We will free Palestine within our lifetime!” the crowd cried, holding signs reading, “Zionism is genocide” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.”

One demonstrator was seen carrying a distasteful poster depicting a person throwing the Israeli flag in the trash.

Israel-Hamas war: How we got here

2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.

2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.

2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.

2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.

2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early-morning ambush Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli towns.

Terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis, wounded more than 4,200, and took at least 200 hostage.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to announce, “We are at war,” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”

The Gaza Health Ministry — which is controlled by Hamas — reported at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.

“Please keep the world clean!” the sign read.

Many attendees weren’t surprised by Saturday’s show of force for the rally, which was promoted as a demonstration for the “end [of] US-sponsored genocide in Gaza.”

“It’s Brooklyn, so it’s Little Palestine,” one protester named Amy said.

“I’m here because I’ve been feeling angry about what’s happening, and coming out here and yelling in support with the community is a good thing for everyone.”

City Councilmember Ari Kagan ripped the protesters, stating that the demonstration was calling for further violence under the guise of a rally for freedom.

No speaker mentioned Hamas atrocities against innocent Israeli civilians. And the crowd chanted a Hamas slogan: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” — “advocating for eradication of Jews from Israel,” the Jewish Republican representing part of southern Brooklyn said on X.

“This was not a rally for a two-state solution or for liberation of Gaza from Hamas or public call to free hundreds of kidnapped Israelis & Americans. It was a shameful pro-Hamas & anti-Israel rally that I strongly condemn.”

Other critics took to social media to tear into the marchers for their radical demand for the end of Israel.

“Whole neighborhood are Hamas supporters. Disgusting,” one seethed on X.

“This Bay Ridgeite thinks if Hamas didn’t kill >1,000 civilians, including the beheadings of women and children, they wouldn’t be in this predicament,” another wrote.

The NYPD confirmed that an unspecified number of demonstrators were taken into custody.

Demonstrations have erupted since Hamas terrorists descended on Israel, murdering 1,400 people, including babies and children. The attack unleashed war as Israel vowed to destroy Hamas.

In one Manhattan demonstration against the conflict, angry Palestinian supporters displayed swastikas and burned an Israeli flag.

On Friday, 139 pro-Palestinian protesters attending a demonstration organized by the Democratic Socialists of America were arrested for blocking traffic in Manhattan.