Pro-Palestine protesters chain themselves to US warship heading to Gaza
A group of pro-Palestine American protesters chained themselves to a US warship on Friday to block the vessel from transporting weapons and military equipment to Israel amid the occupying regime’s genocidal war on Gaza.
Some 800 demonstrators gathered in a San Francisco port, where the USNS Harvey Milk was docked before heading to the Israeli-occupied territories.
Photos and videos posted on social media showed eight protesters standing on the ship’s gangway, chanting, “Palestine will live forever,” as some chained themselves to the gangway to block the vessel from transporting supplies, according to CBS News.
The demonstrators had earlier flocked to the streets in San Francisco, with the rally’s coordinators, which include the Arab Resource Organizing Center (AROC) and the Palestinian Youth Movement, voicing their strong opposition to Washington’s untrammeled support to Israel by providing the illegal entity with financial and logistical support during its brutal aggression on Gaza.
Holding signs and banners in support of Palestinians, the American protesters chanted “Free, Free Palestine,” and called for a ceasefire in Gaza as well as an end to the US-funded arming of Israel.
“It is outrageous and unacceptable that our government continues to fund and supply the Israeli military as it carries out genocide against the people of Gaza,” Lara Kiswani, AROC’s executive director, said in a news release.
Local reports said 14 protesters were arrested by police in the mass rally and a media event scheduled to be held by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was canceled due to the protests.
“The clear majority of people in the country–and across the world–are opposed to Israel’s war in Palestine,” Kiswani added in the news release. “Rather than celebrate this vessel’s participation in Israel’s violations of human rights and international law, Rep. Pelosi needs to represent her constituents and join the call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire now.”
The rally was staged after US media reported of President Joe Biden’s authorization of the delivery of “billions of dollars” worth of arms to Israel amid the Gaza war.
“President Biden has in recent days authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and warplanes to Israel, although Washington expresses concern about a possible military attack on Rafah, south of Gaza,” The Washington Post reported, citing Pentagon and State Department officials.
The United States has in recent days quietly authorized the transfer of billions of dollars in bombs and fighter jets to Israel.
The newspaper said the new weapons batches include more than 1,800 2,000-pound MK84 bombs and 500 500-pound MK82 bombs.
“The provision of new military aid to Israel shows that even though there is a divergence of views between the United States and Israel on the continuation of the war in Gaza, the Biden administration nevertheless does not associate military aid to Israel to the actions of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” the US daily stressed.
Israel began hostilities in Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for the regime’s intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The regime has also cut off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
Israel has killed more than 32,500 Palestinians and injured nearly 75,000 others in Gaza since the October day.
According to the UN, the ongoing Israeli genocide has resulted in the internal displacement of 85% of Gaza’s population, who are now facing severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Additionally, the UN reports that 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been either damaged or completely destroyed.
