Pro-Palestine protest blocks Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco’s iconic bridge, was blocked by pro-Palestinian demonstrators for several hours on Monday, as part of a global action to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.

A long line of cars was stuck on this famous red bridge in the southwest of the United States, while the oncoming lanes were completely deserted, according to aerial images.

The demonstrators, who prevented entry or exit from this side of the Californian city, displayed a banner reading “Stop the world for Gaza”.

The demonstration was organized by A15 Action, a movement which seeks to block key infrastructure in around 40 metropolises around the world “in solidarity with Palestine”. It ended around midday (local time).

“In each city, we will identify and block the main choke points of the economy, focusing on points of production and circulation, with the aim of having the greatest economic impact,” explain the organizers on their website.

More than six months after the start of the war in Gaza, demonstrators protested against the heavy human toll of the Israeli offensive: 33,797 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the Palestinian territory, according to the ministry’s latest report. of Hamas Health.

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas after the unprecedented attack carried out on its soil on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement, which left 1,170 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on data Israeli officials.

Slow down the economy

The demonstrators hoped by their action to slow down the economy. “We felt it was time to go beyond symbolic action to take more calculated risks against the capitalist system, because we know that money is really what speaks to leaders,” he told San Francisco Chronicle an organizer, who says her name is Hayshawiya.

Multiple actions took place in the United States this Monday. A rally notably disrupted access to the Chicago airport, forcing passengers to get there on foot, according to local media.

Protesters also blocked access to an aerospace factory in Connecticut and a highway in Oregon.

In Los Angeles, a few hundred people marched in the city center, behind a banner reading “Stop the siege of Gaza, stop American financing of Israel”.

Actions are to take place in multiple countries, including Canada, Belgium, Italy, Colombia and South Korea.

The A15 Twitter account notably shows photos of demonstrations around the port of Athens in Greece, that of Barcelona in Spain, or in front of the office of the Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs in Adelaide.

American support for Israel

These demonstrations are taking place at a time when the conflict threatens to engulf the Middle East more widely. This weekend, Iran launched an attack from its soil against Israel for the first time, with 350 drones and missiles.

Almost all were intercepted by Israeli air defenses with assistance from the United States and other allied countries.

Israel is currently considering a response to this massive and unprecedented attack, which Tehran presents as a response to the strike on its consulate in Damascus on 1^er April, attributed to Israel and which killed seven members of the Revolutionary Guards.

US President Joe Biden said Monday he wanted to avoid a conflagration in the Middle East.

His “unwavering” support for Israel, however, places the Democrat in a delicate position, as the November presidential election approaches where he must face Republican Donald Trump.

Part of the American left and young voters denounce the responsibility of the United States, which remains Israel’s greatest ally and its main arms supplier.

For several months, some have given the president the nickname “Joe the genocidal” and assure that they will not vote for him if his government maintains this line.

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