A large crowd of protesters gathered Thursday in New York to denounce Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he addressed the UN General Assembly, with demonstrators demanding he face prosecution for war crimes.
"I'm so shocked and disgusted that the United Nations even allows the war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before it," CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin told Anadolu. "I mean, this is somebody whose hands are dripping in blood, and so we're here to say we're the ones who represent the global community that says Netanyahu should not be here. He should be in The Hague facing war crimes."
Demanding the US government also be tried at The Hague, she said: "The US government is complicit in this genocide and now an unprovoked illegal war in Iran. So, we're surrounded by war criminals, unfortunately." She added that the crowd represented "the majority of people around the world who just want to live in peace."
More than 100 people attended the protest, including actor Susan Sarandon.
Some demonstrators wore T-shirts that read: "Fund people not bombs," and several were seen handcuffed and being led away by police. Banners reading: "Stop bombing Iran, Lebanon, Palestine" and "Stop arming Israel" were waved throughout the demonstration.
At a separate, smaller protest en route to UN headquarters, Tamara Gayer of Israelis for Peace told Anadolu, "We're here because Netanyahu is speaking in front of the UN, and he should not be given this public platform. While we don't think that he is the only cause of everything that's going on in Israel—Palestine, he is a major actor and bloc in taking any peace path, which is closer to peace for Israelis and Palestinians for well-being, so that everyone in the land between the Jordan and the river can thrive, which is the future that we all want to see."
