About 100 pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered outside a New York synagogue for the second time in six months to demonstrate against an Israeli real estate event featuring properties for sale in the occupied West Bank.Counterprotesters were also present outside the venue on Tuesday evening as scuffles broke out between the opposing groups. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also clashed with police after trying to bypass security barriers and move closer to the synagogue.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listNew York Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned the real estate event. A spokesperson for Mamdani told The Intercept that some of the properties being marketed were “illegal under international law and deeply tied to the ongoing displacement of Palestinians”.The demonstration was organised by Pal-Awda NY, which staged a similar protest outside the same synagogue during an Israeli real estate event in November.Since then, the New York City Council has passed legislation restricting demonstrations near religious institutions. Under the new rules, police are required to publish plans establishing buffer zones during protests outside places of worship.The event in New York, formally known as The Great Israeli Real Estate Event, is held in the United States and Canada to help foreign buyers purchase property in Israel and relocate there.Under international law, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are illegal.While US administrations have condemned the expansions of such settlements, which are seen as a major impediment to a future Palestinian state, they have rarely taken concrete action against Israel’s government. Advertisement In a major shift in 2019, US President Donald Trump said Washington no longer considers Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank to be illegal under international law.More recently, Trump has opposed outright Israeli annex …
