MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police arrested three adults and two juveniles following a protest of a former Israeli prime minister who gave a speech in downtown Minneapolis.
Officers arrested one man, two women and two juvenile girls after they saw individuals spray-painting public property, according to the Minneapolis police. The protest took place outside The Depot Minneapolis, where former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett spoke at an event as the keynote guest.
The Free Palestine Coalition - the group that organized the protest - said in a statement that Bennett laid the groundwork for the current war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Bennett has been outspoken in his support of the Israeli government's actions, telling MSNBC March 10 that, "The only outcome that will be acceptable is full dismantling of the Hamas terror state next to us, otherwise they'll do it again and again."
Hamas' initial attack killed about 1,200 Israeli citizens on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, the Gaza Health Ministry reported more than 34,600 deaths in Gaza as of April 30.
The MSNBC interviewer asked him about the disproportionate number of casualties in this war, but Bennett maintained that Israel's actions are justified by Hamas' initial attack.
The event was hosted by the Center of the American Experiment, a right-wing think tank based in Golden Valley.
According to Britannica, Bennett first campaigned in 2012 on a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that would limit West Bank Palestinians to living in urban areas, and would establish Israeli annexation of Gaza. He was elected prime minister as the face of a different conservative party in 2021 and stayed in the role until 2022.
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