New York, Jan 9 (IANS): At least 320 pro-Palestine protesters protesters were arrested after staging a demonstration in New York city during rush hours and blocking traffic on several bridges for more than two hours.

More than 1,000 protesters -- many of them wearing the keffiyeh (traditional Palestinian scarf) -- halted outgoing traffic from downtown Manhattan at the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge, Williamsburg Bridge and the Holland Tunnel on Mondau, CNN reported.

The demonstrators held up the Palestinian flag and chanted, “Free Palestine”. They also carried banners and signs that read “ceasefire now” and “USA stop arming Israel”.

In a statement, the Palestinian Youth Movement, which led Monday's demonstration, said the protesters are calling for “five key demands -- a permanent ceasefire; an end to the US government’s arming of the Israeli regime; end to the siege of Gaza,; end to Zionist occupation; and the release of all Palestinian political prisoners".

The protest caused “massive traffic jams” throughout lower Manhattan, including SoHo, Tribeca and Hudson Square, as well as the exit into New Jersey.

The blockades on the bridges also caused “gridlock throughout the Financial District and Lower East Side”, the organiser clained.

All lanes on the bridges and tunnels were reopened by 11.15 a.m., CNN quoted the New York City Police Department as saying.

“Our aim today was to clog the arteries of New York City to draw attention to the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people and the people of Gaza,” Jamil Madbak, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement, told CNN.

“The protests are important to maintain pressure, to show that the US government and media are accountable to the people who are demanding an end to this genocide.”

The protest was however, denounced by New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Addressing the media after the demonstration, the Mayor said: “The right to protest does not give one the right to block bridges and tunnels, as we saw this morning. The goal is to peacefully protest without doing major disruption to the city.

“We need to do everything that is possible to end anything that is going to take the lives of innocent people. But Hamas must be destroyed. They are a terrorist organisation. Their barbaric act on October 7 should not be ignored.”