Pro-Palestinian demonstrators lined up outside U.S. Senator’s Alex Padilla’s office urging him to call for a ceasefire in Gaza as war is ongoing in the region.
The demonstrators, made up primarily of faith leaders, were looking to meet with Padilla. Organizers marched 22 miles from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Padilla’s office.
“The main demands are essentially we are asking our senator Padilla to call for a ceasefire, to end any additional arms sales to Israel and to demand an end to the occupation of Palestine,” said Afraz Khan, part-time imam with the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland.
The demonstration comes the same day President Joe Biden announced that Israel has reached a plan to establish a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, send aid to the region and exchange Palestinian prisoners for the remaining hostages.
Despite the announcement many wrote a message outside Padilla's office on the street asking for the US to end sending aid to Israel.
“President Biden has said he wants to work toward all of these things, we need to see him actually do that now,” said Zahra Billoo, the executive director of CAIR San Francisco Bay Area.
In February, Padilla was one of 70 U.S. Senators that voted in favor of passing a $95 billion bipartisan package that sent additional weapons and military aid to Israel. The move also included sending humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.
Local
Padilla did not respond to NBC Bay Area’s request for comment Friday.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
