SAN FRANCISCO (CN) — Protests of Israel’s bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza chained themselves to barrels and fully stopped traffic on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, and a major highway in Oakland, California, for several hours Monday morning.
Bay Area protesters of the war in Gaza joined others around the world Monday in calling for Israel to declare a ceasefire, deeming the effort an "economic blockade" in solidarity with Palestine as Israel imposes a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and millions face famine.
Seven people were arrested at the Golden Gate Bridge, California Highway Patrol Golden Gate said in a statement Monday morning.
"Protesters are utilizing various devices to impede our progress, such as 55-gallon drums filled with cement," the agency said. "We are opening lanes of [Interstate 880] to allow traffic through and hope to do the same on the Golden Gate Bridge, once we remove individuals chained through cars."
Protesters blocked all lanes of the northbound Interstate 880 in Oakland, chaining themselves to those barrels and stopped traffic starting around 6:40 a.m. Traffic in the other direction stalled, too, as dozens of protesters took to the southbound Interstate 880 starting from West Oakland, California Highway Patrol officials said.
At the same time, all lanes moving in the southbound direction on the Golden Gate Bridge were blocked as protesters stood in the way of vehicles. That led to traffic backed up for miles into Marin County north of San Francisco, officials said.
Highway patrol officials in Marin said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Highway 101 was closed in both directions on the bridge, and advised drivers to use an alternate route. This lasted for several hours until the agency declared Golden Gate Bridge open to traffic again at 12:18 p.m.
Organizers said the protests were a part of A15, a worldwide blockade in solidarity with Palestine calling for an arms embargo and for the U.S. to stop funding weapons for Israel.
The group said in a post on Instagram, "This day is organized by globally conscious people in various cities who believe it is within our collective power to stop this genocide. More importantly, it’s our collective responsibility to do so. Each action is a unique and autonomous act of solidarity with the people of Palestine."
"We have witnessed seventy five years of occupation and 191 days of genocide enacted upon our indigenous Palestinian siblings," the organization said. "Every day we witness unfathomable acts of cruelty and the martyrdom of children on our phones. We grieve alongside them as their mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children are martyred as their land is occupied, and as their sacred spaces are desecrated."
The Oakland Economic Blockade Against Palestinian Genocide said the protesters were among activists in 56 cities around the world, including some blocking traffic in Chicago at O’Hare Airport. The activist group Palestine Online said in a post on X on Monday that activists from St. Louis, Missouri, joined A15 Action and blocked Boeing Manufacturing Plant 598 to protest weapons being supplied to Israel.
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