Protesters blocked roads and banned travel in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have blocked major highways in the states of Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest, temporarily preventing travel to some of the busiest airports in the United States, to the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and along the Busy west coast. road.
In Chicago, protesters held hands and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading to O'Hare International Airport around 7 a.m. (12:00 GMT) on Monday in a demonstration they said was part of a “global economic blockade to liberate Palestine,” according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organizers.
Protesters say they chose O'Hare in part because it is one of the largest airports in the United States. According to Falaneh, dozens of people were arrested. Chicago police said “several people” were detained after a protest in which people blocked traffic, but did not provide a detailed count.
In California, protesters blocked lanes on northbound I-880 in Oakland by chaining themselves to barrels, while a separate group of protesters with signs disrupted traffic in southbound lanes. On the Golden Gate Bridge, protesters blocked traffic in both directions, displaying a banner that read: “Stop the world for Gaza.”
In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, cutting off traffic on the main road for about 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, on the East Coast, protesters marching toward Brooklyn blocked Manhattan-bound traffic across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Anti-war protesters have held demonstrations in Chicago almost every day since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, triggered an Israeli attack on Gaza that killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
O'Hare warned travelers on social platform
Some travelers stuck in stopped traffic abandoned their cars and walked the last stretch to the airport on the highway, dragging their luggage behind them.
“This was an inconvenience,” Madeline Hannan, of suburban Chicago, said in a phone interview while en route to Florida. “But in the grand scheme of what's happening overseas, it's a minor inconvenience.”
Incoming traffic towards O'Hare resumed around 09:00 (14:00 GMT).
Arrests and calls for a ceasefire in Gaza
Near Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation said a demonstration closed the main road to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Posts on social media showed people holding banners and waving Palestinian flags while standing on the road, which reopened about three hours later.
About 20 protesters were arrested at the Golden Gate Bridge demonstration and traffic resumed shortly after noon, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency said officers were making arrests at two points along the highway, including a location where about 300 protesters refused orders to disperse.
“Attempting to block or close a state highway or highway to protest is illegal, dangerous, and prevents motorists from safely reaching their destinations,” the agency said in a statement.
Oregon State Police said 52 protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct following the protest along Interstate 5 in Eugene, Oregon, about 110 miles (177 kilometers) south of Portland. Six vehicles were removed from the scene.
The NYPD made numerous arrests and said that initially 150 protesters participated in the march around 3:15 p.m. (7:15 p.m. GMT), but that the crowd quickly grew.
In San Antonio, protesters carrying Palestinian flags blocked both sides of the Valero Energy Company headquarters, causing traffic congestion on the city's northwest side.
