Dressed in black T-shirts emblazoned with the slogans “Jews demand ceasefire now” or “Not in our name”, the protesters from the Jewish Voice for Peace group on Monday unfurled banners reading “The whole world is watching” and “Palestinians should be free” at the base of New York’s landmark.

It was the latest pro-Palestinian protest to take place in the United States since the start of the war a month ago.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of demonstrators, gathered in Washington, DC to call for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to denounce US policy of support for Israel.

In late October, thousands of people occupied the huge Grand Central station in Manhattan with the same demands.

Separately, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters, including some from US Jewish organisations, shut down the Brooklyn Bridge, leading from Manhattan to the multicultural and fashionable borough across the East River.