Dec 31, 2008 12:23 am US/Pacific
Gaza Attack Protests At SF Israeli Consulate
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
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Protesters demonstrate outside the Israeli consulate in San Francisco.
CBS
A demonstration held Tuesday night in downtown San Francisco to protest the Israeli military's attacks on Gaza remained peaceful as of 9 p.m., a San Francisco police lieutenant said.
Lt. Neville Gittens said there had been no arrests, acts of violence or property damage associated with the demonstration.
Police facilitated the event, which began in front of the Israeli consulate near Montgomery and Sacramento streets earlier in the evening and went to the United Nations Plaza, prompting temporary closures of city streets and intersections, according to Gittens.
The event marked the third consecutive night of local demonstrations and was part of a national day of action organized by Palestinian and civil rights groups that are condemning Israel's offensive, now in its fourth day, as a massacre.
Nathalie Hrizi, a San Francisco elementary school teacher and organizer for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism, one of the groups involved, said earlier on Tuesday a large group was expected for the rally.
Groups marched and rallied in downtown San Francisco on Sunday and Monday, calling for an end to the Israeli attacks. No arrests were made, according to San Francisco police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka.
Since Saturday, Israel has conducted a series of air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza, following Hamas rocket attacks into Israel.
The Israeli response has left more than 300 dead, including some civilians, according to a United Nations report.
The U.N. report said hundreds more wounded in Gaza lacked proper medical care, and that blockades of Gaza have prevented essential humanitarian aid from getting to the area.
A statement released Tuesday by the regional Jewish Community Relations Council backed the Israeli action.
"Israel has exercised extraordinary restraint as Hamas, a terrorist organization that controls Gaza, has continued its attacks against Israelis living in cities and towns within range of its rockets," said Rabbi Doug Kahn, the council's executive director.
"No government, including Israel's, could be expected to refrain from responding to protect the lives of their citizens," Kahn said.
Hrizi said other local Jewish groups have expressed support for an end to the offensive.
She said the issue is not religious, but rather "an issue of the occupation of Palestine, and the resistance to that occupation."
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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