Pro-Palestinian protesters vandalise First World War memorial

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators vandalised a First World War memorial and burned an American flag in Central Park on Monday evening after being held back from the Met Gala by police.

Around 1,000 protesters took to the streets of New York, marching up Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan before penetrating barricades that were blocking access to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the gala was being held.

The demonstrators were heard chanting: “It’s called divest! We will not stop. We will not rest!” as they marched towards the star-studded event.

Police managed to divert the group towards Central Park by forming a blockade - standing two officers deep - which prevented them from gaining access to the gala.

Footage posted to X, formerly Twitter, appeared to show police officers detaining some protesters outside of the event, as others across the street chanted: “Let them go”.

As the protests diverged, some demonstrators then headed down Park Avenue, setting off smoke bombs and flares.

After reaching the war memorial, some of the protesters climbed up it and waved Palestinian flags, before spray painting “Gaza” on its stone base.

Pictures from the scene also showed an American flag being burned in front of the monument.

The memorial, which depicts members of the 107th United States Infantry in the throes of battle, was also covered in stickers that read: “Stop the Genocide. End the apartheid. Free Palestine’’.

Day of rage

Multiple arrests were made, police confirmed to The Independent.

The stunt was part of a citywide “day of rage”, where people across New York City took part in demonstrations protesting the Israel-Gaza war, demanding that Israel stops its invasion of Rafah.

Protesters spent the day blocking traffic and marching in an attempt to convince the US government to stop sending funds to Israel, and to call for an immediate ceasefire.

Earlier in the day, nearly 1,000 pro-Israel demonstrators gathered in Riverside Park near Columbia University in response to the pro-Palestinian encampment at the site.

The protests at Columbia have inspired similar demonstrations at dozens of universities across the US and the world.

The university has since been forced to cancel its main graduation ceremony as a result of the rising on-campus tensions.