In a show of protest against American backing for Israel, pro-Palestinian demonstrators have blocked a U.S. government ship.
CALIFORNIA – OAKLAND Pro-Palestinian activists, expressing their fury over U.S. backing for Israel, trespassed at the Port of Oakland and obstructed the operations of a U.S. government ship.
KTVU reported about 8 a.m. on Friday that about 200 demonstrators with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center had assembled near The Cape Orlando, a Department of Transportation-managed commercial marine vessel. Port security shut the gate as several hundred more demonstrators gathered outside.
As reported by CBS News, three protesters hung from a rope ladder, thereby blocking the closure of a ship door. Protesters were heard yelling “Joe Biden, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide!” in a video shared on social media.
In addition to waving Palestinian flags, demonstrators carried signs reading things like “Biden, Pelosi: Don’t Aid and Abet War Crimes, Ceasefire!” Another sign called for “No U.S. Military Aid to Israel.”
A Coast Guard negotiator tried in vain to get the demonstrators off the ship, but they refused to go. Supporter of the Palestinian people Mohamed Shehk emphasized the peaceful nature of the demonstrations and their intent to show support for the Palestinian people. We made it through. They opened the gates. Shehk explained in an interview with KTVU that the demonstration was nonviolent and that its participants were showing support for the Palestinian people.
There has been no word yet on whether or not there will be arrests made by the Oakland Police Department or the United States Coast Guard during the demonstration.
A day after the House of Representatives approved $14.3 billion in federal aid to Israel by a vote of 226 to 196 on Thursday, protesters took to the streets on Friday. Twelve Democrats joined with Republicans in this vote.
This bill would repurpose money that had been set aside for the Internal Revenue Service under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The only Republicans to vote no were Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie.