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By Bay City News.
Both directions of the Golden Gate Bridge and Interstate 880 near downtown Oakland were blocked Monday morning by protesters opposing Israel's involvement in Gaza.
Southbound on I-880, between 200 and 300 protesters were blocking the freeway near Seventh Street at 9 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Heading north, seven protesters were chained to barrels filled with concrete on the freeway near the Fifth Avenue exit.
Traffic was backed up for miles and the CHP said there was no estimated time to reopen the highway.
Protesters were also blocking both directions of traffic at the Golden Gate, authorities said. Sidewalks were also closed to bicycles and pedestrians starting at 9 a.m.
There is no estimated time to reopen the bridge, officials said, and traffic on southbound Highway 101 was being detoured at Alexander Avenue.
The actions are planned as part of an “economic blockade” coordinated with similar protests around the world. Protesters hope to attack “the global economy for its complicity in Israel's ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people,” organizers said under the banner A15Action.
An additional protest is planned for noon at UN Plaza and Market and Hyde streets in San Francisco, by the Code Pink Group. An action by the group A15Action is also planned at 5:30 p.m. at the Tesla factory in Fremont.
UPDATE: Protesters continue to block northbound I-880 in Oakland. Some appear to be attached to concrete-filled barrels. https://t.co/tSEi4n37tl pic.twitter.com/aOYHdfjs7f
? NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) April 15, 2024
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