‘700 killings are justified, free Palestine!’ – Hamas supporters rally in NY

Attendees of pro-Palestinian rally in Times Square taunt nearby Israel supporters, displaying swastikas and chanting that the 700 murders were justified.

By World Israel News Staff

Around one thousand demonstrators from pro-Palestinian organizations gathered in New York on Sunday, praising the Hamas terror group for its mass slaughter of at least 700 people in Israel over the weekend.

A similar gathering was held outside the Israeli consulate in San Francisco, with a counter-rally of pro-Israel demonstrators nearby.

Photos from the New York event circulating on social media show multiple attendees waving Palestinian flags, displaying swastikas, and making throat-slitting gestures directed at participants of a nearby pro-Israel counter demonstration.

Some chanted “700,” in reference to the number of the victims murdered by Hamas, while making victory symbols with their hands.

Participants also displayed images of Israeli hostages on their phones and stomped on the Israeli flag.

Other shouts from the crowd included, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “resistance is justified.”

“We want to show the world that when Palestine rises up in resistance, the diaspora rises with it,” Munir Atalla, of the Palestinian Youth Movement, told AP News.

One speaker praised the massive terror attack, saying that “the oppressed people of Palestine broke out of the open-air prison.” The crowd then erupted in cheers, according to media reports.

“The White House is telling all of its mouthpieces to tell us a false story, but we know that the real terrorist is the Israeli state,” the speaker added.

“The whole world should know there was a massacre in Israel. That’s why I’m here,” protester Tanya Farhi-Altman, who attended the pro-Israel protest, told the Times of Israel.

“In their place, I would be very ashamed to show my face here today, after yesterday they murdered so many of our children, the elderly, women and helpless people. I would be ashamed and stay home. I would also say ‘I’m sorry.’”

One of the major organizers of the protest was the If Not Now group, which has a heavy presence at the City University of New York (CUNY.)

For two consecutive years, CUNY commencement speakers affiliated with the organization have used their graduations to spout antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda.

Numerous students and staff have complained for years about a virulently anti-Israel atmosphere on campus.