Arabic version: الشرطة تعتقل متظاهرين خارج الأمم المتحدة قبل خطاب نتنياهو

According to Al Jazeera, police arrested about 100 protesters outside United Nations headquarters in New York as demonstrators rallied against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before his address to the UN General Assembly. Those arrested included actor Susan Sarandon, actor Hannah Einbinder, Democratic congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier and New York City Council member Chi Osse.

The protest was organised by Jewish Voice for Peace and drew about 200 people wearing matching white T-shirts. The shirts carried slogans including “Fund people not bombs”, “No war” and “Free Palestine”. Protesters blocked traffic, and police used loudspeakers to order them to leave.

Some demonstrators moved to the sidewalks, while officers surrounded protesters who remained seated on the pavement and chanted, “Netanyahu go to hell”. The demonstrators were then escorted to police buses. Protester Manijeh Moradian said the destruction in Gaza was a responsibility to speak out against and said Netanyahu should not use the United Nations platform to justify what she called atrocities.

Inside the General Assembly, Netanyahu defended Israel’s actions in the Middle East while seeking to counter growing international isolation ahead of Israel’s upcoming elections. Dozens of delegates streamed out of the hall. Separately, pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered at the New York Public Library in Manhattan, carrying Palestinian flags and banners including “New York rejects Zionism” and “Palestine deserves freedom”.