Pro-Palestine And Pro-Israel Protesters Clash In Washington

The high tensions in Israel have found their way on U.S. streets.

Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israel demonstrators were seen in Washington clashing with one another.

Protestors on both sides had to be broken up by the police after a brawl broke out at a staged protest in Kirkland, Washington.

Videos show protestors grabbing flags, swinging punches and spitting on one another.

Take a look:

Palestine and Israel supporters clash in the Washington State of US. pic.twitter.com/sOxo7hYmGt

— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) October 9, 2023

🚨Palestine and Israel supporters clash in Washington. pic.twitter.com/9YzOVrB4vM

— Ashley (@Ashley_Ferrata) October 9, 2023

Per The Daily Beast:

Police stepped in to break up scuffles which broke out between groups of pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters in Kirkland, Washington on Sunday.

Videos of the clashes shared online appear to show the opposing demonstrators fighting over flags and getting into physical altercations the day after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel, prompting Tel Aviv to declare war. “A few of the protesters on the Israeli side came up and spit on us,” a protester told KIRO-TV. “They ran into the middle of the crowd and started throwing punches… I got punched.”

Kirkland Police announced on Twitter that it was working with “demonstrators from opposing views.’ “Both parties are working peaceful with the police at this time,” the agency said, adding that streets had been closed in the area.

Clashes occurred in San Diego, California too.

Palestine and Israel supporters clash at Balboa Park protest amid conflict https://t.co/Xy14hX7390

— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) October 9, 2023

Check out what Fox 5 San. Diego reported:

The conflict in Israel sparked demonstrations across the country on Sunday, including one in San Diego.

Pro-Palestine protesters and pro-Israel counter protestors clashed throughout the afternoon at a protest in Balboa Park, echoing their national counterparts. San Diego police officers were seen stepping in to keep the peace between the groups.

FOX 5 spoke with demonstrators on both sides of the event.

ADVERTISEMENT

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators said that the rally aimed to show solidarity with Palestinians, who have been subject to a decades-long military occupation by the Israeli government that human rights organizations say amounts to an apartheid system.

Airlines cancel flights from San Diego International Airport to Tel Aviv
Prior to the conflict that erupted Saturday, as many as 6,407 Palestinians have been killed in occupied territory since 2008, according to the United Nations. During this same timeframe, roughly 308 Israeli citizens were killed as a result of the ongoing conflict.

“A lot of the narrative has been very wishy-washy,” Sabrina Damanhouri, one of the organizers of the rally in support of Palestine, said of the Hamas attack. “A lot of people are under the assumption this has started as of Saturday Oct. 7, but this has not been something that’s an isolated incident. This has been going on for the past 75 years.”