Hundreds Protest Outside Israeli Consulate In Atlanta

A pro-Palestinian protester waves a flag in front of the building housing the Israeli Consulate office in Atlanta on Tuesday evening, May 18, 2021.

Ben Gray / AP Photo

Hundreds of Palestinian supporters gathered outside the Israeli consulate in Atlanta on Tuesday evening to call for an end to Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

Around 300 people of all ages stood peacefully along sidewalks near the Israeli consulate in the city’s Midtown neighborhood, occasionally spilling out into the street.

Holding signs proclaiming “Stop the genocide,” and “End the apartheid,” the protesters chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

A small group of police officers was present and the protesters cheered loudly when cars drove by and honked in support of the demonstration.

Israel has said it will press on for now with its offensive against Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, and the U.S. signaled it would not pressure the two sides for a cease-fire even as President Joe Biden said he supported one.

At least 212 Palestinians have been killed in the week of airstrikes, including 61 children and 36 women, with more than 1,400 people wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Ten people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy and a soldier, have been killed in the ongoing rocket attacks launched from civilian areas in Gaza toward civilian areas in Israel.