 "Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attend a protest near the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institut in New York City, New York, US, on Monday. Reuters")
Anti-Israel protesters vandalized a World War I memorial in Central Park on Monday and burned an American flag after a mob of over 1,000 marchers was blocked by police from reaching the Metropolitan Museum of Art where the star-studded Met Gala was underway.
The incident took place near the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 67th which is very close to the Metropolitan Museum of Art but there was a large police presence near the venue to ensure that the fashion event was not crashed by anti-Israel protesters.
According to a New York Post report, during the confrontation, one protester set fire to an American flag near the 107th Infantry Memorial. The memorial’s base was defaced with graffiti bearing the word “Gaza” in bold black letters.
The bronze soldiers of the memorial were adorned with stickers displaying the Palestinian flag and slogans advocating for the end of what they perceived as genocide and apartheid, alongside calls for the liberation of Palestine.
Further adding to the tension, some demonstrators climbed onto the memorial, waving Palestinian flags and draping them over the figures, added the report.
Another Central Park monument, the Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman bronze statue in Grand Army Plaza, was also vandalized Monday night.
“Free Gaza” was graffitied in red letters on the base of the memorial and a Palestinian flag was affixed to its front.
Earlier in the evening, according to New York Post, citing police sources, at least 24 anti-Israel protesters were arrested near Madison Ave and East 83rd Street.
They were part of a large group marching from Hunter College toward the Met. This demonstration, organised by the Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime under the banner of a “Day of Rage,” disrupted traffic along Fifth Avenue as they moved northward. The procession was halted by law enforcement at the East 79th Street Transverse in Central Park, added the report.
“Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” New York Post report quoted the group as chanting as they waved Palestinian flags and wore keffiyeh face coverings.
Although aiming to protest at the glamorous event, which had long been anticipated as a focal point for demonstrations, the protesters were unable to reach the iconic art museum.
Police successfully redirected the crowd into Central Park, then blocked the exits, leaving them at a standstill and uncertain about their next move.
“This is an exercise in futility at this point. There’s nowhere for them to go,” the report quoted a cop attempting to corral the crowd as saying to his partner.
The protesters then filed out of the park and were within sight of the Met, but dozens of police formed a blockade — standing two cops deep — preventing them from heading north.
The group tried to reach the museum again by turning down East 81st Street but was again stopped by more police barricades at the intersection with Madison Avenue.
Soon after cops met the protesters head-on three blocks uptown and began making about two dozen arrests.
With inputs from agencies