Nearly 70 protestors arrested after occupying San Francisco building housing Israeli consulate

Law enforcement in San Francisco detained dozens of pro-Palestine protestors Monday after they temporarily took over a building housing the Israeli consulate, officials said.

San Francisco police department arrested 70 demonstrators protesting the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and subsequent humanitarian crisis, on trespassing charges. The majority of them, 69, were zip-tied, but were eventually released from the county Jail, police said in a statement to multiple outlets. One other was cited but got released on-the-spot. 

The protestors were in the building’s lobby for a number of hours, The Associated Press reported.

They were chanting “Free, free Palestine,” according to video footage taken from the scene. They slapped signs on the doors of the building and called for the end of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, which has gone on for nearly eight months.

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, an international group that says their membership is Jewish, wrote in a post on Instagram that over 100 people from the San Francisco area were participating in the protest. 

Protestors held up various signs inside the building, including those saying “anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.” 

The Israeli consulate stated it was “appalled, but not surprised” by the demonstrators inside the lobby, according to Reuters. The protestors in the statement were deemed as “pro-Hamas rioters.”

Israel has faced increased scrutiny over its operation in Gaza, one that has killed over 36,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The total number does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

The offensive has also destroyed over 36,000 structures, according to an analysis done by UNOSAT, the United Nations satellite analysis agency.

The Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, following the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ attack on the Jewish state that killed around 1,200 Israelis, while around 250 were taken hostage.