After three Israeli teenagers were found dead in the West Bank on June 30th, anger and cries for revenge swept over parts of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “Hamas is responsible, and Hamas will pay.” The investigations are still in progress, but a group of Israeli vigilantes took it upon themselves to kidnap a Palestinian teenager and burn him alive. Six suspects have been arrested for that murder. The brutality placed a focus on the rising extremism in the region. Meanwhile, the death toll of Israel’s renewed military action and aerial assaults on Gaza is nearing 100 in a matter of days.
Brushing aside criticism of Israel’s four-day-old aerial attacks on Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he felt no international pressure to quit the operation and would not rule out a ground invasion to stop the barrages of rockets from Palestinian militants.
On Wednesday, about 4,000 demonstrators hailing from a variety of backgrounds, held a protest in Manhattan. There was a noticeable presence of members from Neturei Karta, an Orthodox Jewish group that opposes Zionism. Police were on high alert all around and eventually began picking off and detaining people. One man was being escorted across the street by two officers before a taxi cab intervened, bumping him out of their grasp and giving him the space to run away.
By sundown, a pro-Israel counter-protest took place across the street and consisted of what appeared to be a few teenagers, but by the time the march reached the Israeli Consulate later that evening, a sizeable counter protest mounted. Speeches were read. People dispersed. Bombs continued to fall throughout the night in Gaza. (Photos: Rhett Jones/ANIMALNewYork)
