Protesters take to NYC streets as Netanyahu speaks at U.N. General Assembly
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations General Assembly Friday morning.
During his appearance in New York City, protesters on both sides of the issue of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza gathered outside the U.N. headquarters.
The crowd stopped just outside the U.N. building and temporarily shut down the street amid a massive NYPD, Secret Service and law enforcement presence.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Times Square and marched through Midtown Manhattan, calling Netanyahu a war criminal while he was speaking at the U.N. One protester who spoke with CBS News New York said her family in the West Bank has no food to put on the table.
At the same time, families of Israeli hostages gathered to call for their relatives to be released by Hamas. Ilana Gritzewsky was held in captivity for 55 days.
"They broke my leg. They dislocated my jaw," Gritzewsky said.
She says her partner is still there.
"I'm going to continue to push my government to end this war to bring all the hostages, but we need to be sure if we get the end of the war, Hamas will release all the hostages back," Gritzewsky said.
Yasmin Majal wants the body of her cousin Omer Neutra returned to his hometown on Long Island.
"I want to tell Bibi Netanyahu that we're behind him and the hard decisions he will have to make, and we hope he will be able to help us bring Omer home, and the rest of the hostages," Majal said.
In New Jersey, Basma Bsharat watched Netanyahu's address from the Palestinian American Community Center.
"It's just fear-mongering propaganda," Bsharat said.
"He says he doesn't want a two-state solution because he doesn't feel safe with the Palestinians next to him. We are the ones who doesn't feel safe," Diab Moustafa said.
Their denunciations matched thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who marched to the U.N. calling Netanyahu a war criminal.
"Thousands of people are here to demand Netanyahu is out of our city and tried at the Hague," demonstrator Nidai Lafi said.
"We would like military intervention right now. We need to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza where people are under forced starvation, where all 36 hospitals have been bombed. We need infrastructure to be built and this cannot be done unless there's military intervention," another protester said.
The NYPD said there were no protest-related arrests at the U.N. Friday.