Seattle, WA
Seattle Pro-Palestine protestors say they’ll continue to cause disruption
Seattle pro-Palestinian demonstrators say risk of arrest is “worth it” to get message out
Protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza once again took to Seattle streets, shutting down roads and blocking traffic to make their voice be heard.
SEATTLE – Protestors calling for a cease-fire in Gaza took to the streets Saturday, marching through downtown Seattle.
Their actions blocked lanes of traffic, and some protestors even used their personal cars to shut down streets from public use.
Organizers tell FOX 13 they initially started their demonstration at Westlake Center before coming to their final stop downtown near the Amazon Spheres.
“We started at Westlake Park at about noon,” said Hossam Nasr with the group Palestinian Youth Movement. “We marched to Pike Place Market. We got there about 1:30, stayed there for a little bit and then marched here to the spheres.”
Nasr estimated there were more than 1,000 participants throughout the day.
These weekend protests have become the norm since the war broke out between Palestine and Israel. Group organizers tell FOX 13 they have no plans to slow down or end their protests.
“The more they try to silence us, the louder our voice becomes,” said Nasr. “The fact that we had one of the biggest attended marches for Palestine in Seattle since the start of this genocide proves that this policy of violence and oppression is not going to work, it does not intimidate us, it does not scare us.”
FOX 13 asked for clarification on what the group meant by “policy of violence and oppression” but did not get a straight answer.
We also asked if protestors are concerned about breaking laws and facing charges, this as 12 protestors are facing legal issues stemming from the I-5 shutdown. That incident also involved pro-Palestine demonstrators.
“I don’t think it’s exactly safe to share our plan,” said Taylor Young.
Young is with the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
“We normally keep each other safe despite the police repression,” she said. “The organizations who are part of that, we’re tracking that very closely, the police investigation into the charges but again, that hasn’t been our focus. The focus is the genocide that is happening in Palestine.”
Despite the disruption to roads being blocked, there were no reports of any arrests or citations from police Saturday.
SDOT officials who were monitoring traffic conditions said the protests cleared around 4 p.m.