New York City police said on Saturday they had taken into custody more than two dozen people who took part in pro-Palestinian Arab protests at the Brooklyn Museum, Reuters reported.
Six of the 29 individuals were arrested and charged with offenses including assault and criminal trespassing, while 16 people were released with orders to appear in court and another seven were issued summonses and released, a New York City Police Department spokesperson said.
On Friday, pro-Palestinian Arab protesters took over parts of the art museum in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, hanging a banner above the main entrance, occupying much of the lobby and scuffling with police, according to witnesses.
The museum said it closed an hour early because of the disruption, including skirmishes between police and protesters that took place inside and outside the building.
Hundreds of demonstrators were marching through Brooklyn when some of them rushed the entrance, according to a Reuters witness. Security guards prevented many from entering but some managed to get inside.
A banner was hung from atop the neoclassical facade proclaiming, "Free Palestine, Divest From Genocide."
Anti-Israel demonstrations have been on the rise in New York, as well as in other cities across the US, since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7 and the war in Gaza which followed.
In mid-May, police arrested at least a dozen protesters as a crowd of pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators marched in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, while waving Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flags.
Before that, hundreds of anti-Israel protesters took over the Manhattan Bridge, blocking vehicles on the bridge’s upper level and stalling traffic.
Some of the protesters, as well as journalists on hand reporting on the demonstration, were taken into custody.
Days earlier, a Jewish man was assaulted during an anti-Israel demonstration intended to disrupt the Met Gala.