Nov. 28 (UPI) — The New York Police Department arrested 21 pro-Palestinian protesters who briefly blocked the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route Thursday morning.
Nearly two dozen protesters leapt over barriers and blocked the parade route on West 55th Street shortly before 9:30 a.m. EST.
They sat down, locked arms and chanted, “Free Palestine,” while holding two Palestinian flags and carrying a banner saying, “Don’t celebrate genocide,” calling for an arms embargo and giving land to Palestinians.
Parade spectators booed the protesters, many of whom had their faces covered while they stopped the parade for about five minutes.
The NYPD responded quickly and arrested the protesters, who are being held on yet-to-be-announced charges.
The parade continued in rainy conditions after police cleared the protesters to the cheers of spectators.
The protesters for a second straight year chose to block the path of the Ronald McDonald balloon while protesting the war in Gaza that started when Hamas attacked and killed Israelis citizens on Oct. 7, 2023.
The NYPD last year arrested 34 pro-Palestinian protesters who blocked the McDonald’s float and glued their hands to the street.
Thirty of those protesters were charged with trespassing while four others were charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.
The annual parade started at 8:30 a.m. in the upper west side of Manhattan and followed a 2.5-mile route to the Macy’s Herald Square store location on 34th Street.
The parade has been held every year since 1924, except for 1942 through 1944 during World War II.