Dallas police arrested 12 people at a "Stop Starving Now" protest organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement as the Israel-Hamas conflict enters its second year. Several demonstrators entered the Uptown building about an hour into the protest Friday before police called for backup amid the growing crowd, police said in a statement to KERA News.
Nine people are facing criminal trespassing charges, two face interference with public duties charges, and one person faces interference, resisting and assault on a public servant charges, according to police. One individual arrested was transported to a hospital for "precautionary reasons" after bumping their head with another person during their arrest, police said. Four of those arrested were released Saturday, according to a social media post from PYM.
Dallas Police have not publicly identified the people arrested as of Monday.
"Over the past year of organizing and mobilizing, we've witnessed an escalated targeting against our community in DFW and across the U.S. more largely," PYM said in statement on social media.
Hamas fighters launched an offensive into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 1,200 Israelis. A total of 255 people were taken hostage before and during the attack, 50 of whom have not been released. Of the others, 140 people were released alive, eight were rescued alive, and 57 bodies were either returned to or retrieved by Israel.
Israel’s ensuing military offensive, now going on two years, has killed almost 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between combatants and civilians, but said more than half of all victims were women and children.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to fears of widespread starvation, with more than 9,000 children treated for malnutrition this year. United Nation officials and aid groups have warned for months that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine — but have been unable to formally declare one because Israel severely limits access to the territory. It has made it difficult and in some instances impossible to gather data for officials.
Protesters on Friday chose to gather outside the Dallas office of Boston Consulting Group, an international management consulting firm. The group had fired two of its workers over "subsequent unauthorized work," for providing support to an aid organization helping deliver humanitarian support to Gaza, according to a statement last month.
Several people gathered in the lobby and outside the jail at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center after the arrested protesters were transferred, The News reported.
Penelope Rivera is KERA’s breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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