A peaceful pro-Israel rally in front of the Federal Building in Westwood in West Los Angeles was interrupted late Sunday afternoon when three or four men wielding Palestinian flags arrived carrying long wooden sticks and alledgely attacked the pro-Israel demonstrators. The Los Angeles Police Department reported that more than 1,200 attended the rally.
Witnesses said several of the pro-Israel participants were hit by the sticks, but police would not immediately confirm or comment on whether anyone was wounded. A separate counter protest of about 200 supporting the Palestinians was held across the street.
When police who were already on the scene stepped in to break up the scuffle, the attackers returned to their pickup truck and drove off. As they left, witnesses say, a gun was fired in the direction of the truck by a Department of Homeland Security officer who was at the scene, according to Brian Thomas of the LAPD West Los Angeles Patrol Division.
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by Ryan Torok and Jared Sichel
Credit: Jewish Journal