25 Arrested Blocking Netanyahu's Motorcade to UN General Assembly

More than two dozen Palestinian and Jewish activists and allies were arrested in New York City Thursday after blocking the planned route of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's motorcade ahead of the right-wing leader's United Nations General Assembly speech.

Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), which co-organized the protest, said that 25 people including the actor Rowan Blanchard were arrested by New York police outside United Nations headquarters in midtown Manhattan.

"As Jewish New Yorkers we vehemently condemn Prime Minister Netanyahu's assault on Lebanon and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," explained JVP's Jay Saper. "We will continue to raise our voices in dissent until the United States government stops arming Israel and Palestinians are able to live with the full freedom and dignity they deserve."

The protest and Netanyahu's New York visit came as Israeli forces continued the relentless assault on Gaza for which Israel is being tried for genocide at the International Court of Justice. According to Palestinian and international officials, more than 147,000 Gazans have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since October 7, when Hamas led the deadliest attack on Israel since the country's founding in 1948.

Israel has also ramped up attacks on Lebanon in response to rockets launched from that country by the political and paramilitary group Hezbollah. Last week, a two-day bombings spree targeting Hezbollah communications devices that also killed civilians including children was attributed to Israel. Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds of civilians and wounded thousands more.

"Our world leaders have done nothing to stop Netanyahu and his genocidal administration from murdering over 15,000 children and several times more adults," said Munir Marwan of protest co-organizer Palestinian Youth Movement. "As he plans to escalate the slaughter, we must be the ones to stop him."

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Friday.

Several world leaders condemned Israel's aggression during their U.N. speeches this week.

"Gaza is one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, and it is now dangerously spilling over into Lebanon," leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Tuesday.

Cyril Ramaphosa, the president of South Africa—which is leading the ICJ genocide lawsuit against Israel—said that "we will not sit silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others."

In a separate case, the ICJ recently ruled that Israel's 57-year occupation of Palestine is an illegal form of apartheid that must immediately end.

"The only lasting solution is the establishment of a Palestinian state, a state that will exist side by side with Israel, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Ramaphosa added.

Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petro asserted that "when Gaza dies, all of humanity will die."

"Those of us who have the power to sustain life speak without being paid attention to," he added. "That is why they do not listen to us when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. The presidents who can destroy humanity do not listen to us."

This post was updated to clarify that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's United Nations General Assembly speech was scheduled for Friday.