Police on Monday arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian Arab demonstrators for trespassing after they occupied the lobby of a San Francisco building that houses the Israeli Consulate, The Associated Press reported. Police zip-tied the hands of protesters, put them in police vans, and drove them away, according to the report. Officers arrested 69 people who refused to vacate the building, cited them, and released them from San Francisco County Jail, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement. Another demonstrator was cited and released at the scene for the same charge, it said. The demonstrators had entered the building and occupied the lobby for several hours while posting signs on the front doors calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war. Police officers repeatedly ordered the demonstrators to leave before they moved in and started detaining people, the police department said. Consul General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, Marco Sermoneta, said the protesters arrived at around 9:00 a.m. at the Financial District’s high-rise but didn’t enter the consulate’s offices. He said his office was telling people that they might need to change their appointments. The protest was one of many anti-Israel demonstrations that have taken place across the US since Hamas’ October 7 attack and the war in Gaza which followed. Related articles: 26-year-old warned against OpenAI; found dead in his apartment "Khaybar" message spray-painted on San Francisco Hillel San Francisco: Jewish museum to close next month San Francisco: Jewish candidate wins race for mayor In April, demonstrators protesting the war in Gaza shut down the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It reopened several hours later. A month earlier, hundreds of protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and calling for an end to US military assistance for Israel blocked the international terminal at the San Francisco International Airport.
