Pro-Palestine protesters burned American flag during Gaza solidarity march on Independence Day

07/09/2024 / By Belle Carter

Around 100 anti-Israel protesters gathered in Manhattan to condemn Israel’s continued military operations in Gaza on July 4, Independence Day. The said gathering led to the burning of the American flag.

Pro-Palestine protesters who attended the protest titled “Flood July 4th for Gaza!” waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Shut it down,” as captured in video footage posted by user Oliya Scootercaster on X, formerly Twitter. The protesters gathered around the burning flag, chanting and taking pictures of the event. The demonstration escalated as protesters marched through Manhattan, also chanting “Revolution! Revolution!”

The said footage also showed a keffiyeh-wearing demonstrator trying to set fire to a tattered American flag on the ground. When a bystander urged them to leave the country if they disliked the United States, the crowd began chanting “Free, free Palestine.”

Smoke bombs and flares were set off by some protesters to obstruct city viewers from watching the celebratory fireworks. They also continued to yell: “While you’re watching, bombs are dropping!” and “Israel bombs, U.S.A. pays! How many kids did you kill today?”

After the burning of the flag, they also set on fire posters of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The image showed both men wearing crowns beneath “DEATH TO ALL KINGS” in big block letters.

More than three dozen of the anti-Israel protesters were arrested during the rally. The New York Police Department (NYPD) said they cuffed 37 people during the demonstration, which began at Washington Square Park and gradually made its way to Hudson Yards, just in time for the iconic Macy’s fireworks display.

Othman Belhamdounia, 36, was nabbed just after 7 p.m. for allegedly snatching someone’s Israeli flag at the corner of Washington Square East and Washington Place, police said. He was slapped with petit larceny and grand larceny charges.

Around 8:30 p.m., Nicholas Cross, 33, was arrested at the corner of Eighth Avenue and West 19th Street for allegedly attempting to grab a flag that a 17-year-old boy was holding in his hand, authorities said. The teen held onto the flag and Cross couldn’t snatch it away. Cross was charged with attempted grand larceny, authorities said.

Seven other people were arrested for obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and criminal possession of a controlled substance, NYPD reported. Twenty-eight people were slapped with summonses.

“We raise the flag of the revolution as we rise and flood New York for Gaza,” the organizers posted on X, alongside a video of a horde of protesters gathered, with a Palestinian flag and a sign bearing the words “Stop Cop City Free Palestine” prominently displayed.

The social media post had a caption that said: “Resisting ongoing repression from the NYPD today to disrupt the 4th of July, we are making clear that these are our streets.”

Similar flag burnings reported in pro-Palestine protests in Los Angeles and Philadelphia

The same symbolic act of burning the U.S. flag was simultaneously done in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Six people were arrested after pro-Palestinian protesters burned flags and scuffled with Philadelphia police officers outside City Hall, on July 4. Several of the protesters were waving Palestinian flags while burning other flags with one appearing to be an American flag. At one point, a woman throws several smaller American flags onto the heap.

As the crowd which grew to 400 people marched down Chestnut Street, police reported that the act of vandalism occurred. Officers moved in once the fires started.

“A handful of arrests were made. We’re still working out and sorting through that, but that type of behavior absolutely cannot be tolerated,” said First Deputy Commissioner John Stanford. “We are always open to individuals expressing their First Amendment right. We are here for the purpose, of protecting and making sure that everyone has the ability to do so. However, once it turns violent, or there’s a situation where individuals are going to destroy property, it changes the dynamic of everything.”

In Los Angeles the exact same day, protesters walked along the Santa Ana Freeway chanting that the United States is a “terrorist” state.

A video by Sean Beckner-Carmitchel indicated that a group of around 50 people began demonstrating near an Independence Day celebration before heading onto the highway. The video also indicated that the demonstrators set an American flag on fire while parading down U.S. Highway 101. (Related: Jewish students endangered not because of anti-Israel protests, but because of police involvement and third-party doxing of participants.)

Head over to Revolt.news for news about uprisings and protests against the continued genocidal attacks of Israel on Palestinian territories.

Watch the video below that talks about a pro-Palestinian protest outside the NYC Nova Exhibit.

This video is from the Galactic Storm channel on Brighteon.com.