Pro-Palestinian activists caused huge traffic jams on the way to New York's Kennedy Central Airport on one of the busiest days in the United States, news sites across the country reported Monday and Tuesday night.
The protest, dubbed "Kennedy Flooding for Gaza," included dozens of pro-Palestinian activists who stopped with their vehicles at the main artery leading to the airport, creating huge traffic jams while waving Palestinian flags and banners with megaphones, "NYPD, Ku Klux Klan, IDF - you are all the same."
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Kennedy Airport in New York, Photo: Reuters
A vehicle of Palestinian flag protesters drives through Queens, New York, Photo: AP
Although the head of the Transportation Division of the New York Police Department recommended that passengers plan their arrival at the airport ahead of time and prepare for delays following the planned demonstration, many of the passengers had to stop along the way and continue on foot to the field under the rain due to the closure of the main road.
At the same time, getting to the airport via trains in the area was possible only for airport workers as well as passengers with boarding cards, which increased the pressure among passengers who traveled independently or arrived by taxi to the airport area.
Police inspect cars at a checkpoint outside New York's Kennedy Airport, Photo: AFP
Traffic jams in New York following the demonstration, Photo: AP
At around 15 p.m. New York time, local police announced that the protest in the area had been evacuated but that the activists intended to move toward LaGuardia Airport, also located in New York.
In recent weeks, pro-Palestinian activists have been holding huge protests throughout the country, especially in central locations in New York City. Just recently, there was a show of support for Gaza in the Ground Zero area, where the Twin Towers stood.
The demonstrators also held protests at the city's main train station, Grand Central, which led to a halt in train traffic for several hours, and at the Brooklyn Bridge connecting Manhattan and Brooklyn. These protests include hundreds, sometimes thousands, of demonstrators calling for a ceasefire and condemning Israel's actions in Gaza.
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