Jan 5, 2009 7:54 pm US/Eastern
Protests Erupt Into Violence On Miami Streets
At Least 10 People Were Arrested Sunday
Both Sides Want The Violence To Stop In Their Homelands
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Israeli Defense Force troops mobilize on Jan. 3, 2009, on the Gaza-Israel border ahead of a ground offensive in Gaza in an attempt to take control of Hamas rocket launch sites in the region.
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
Both sides want the violence in the Gaza strip to end while they protested in Miami this Sunday, but violence is exactly what resulted when tempers flared among members of opposing sides on Biscayne Blvd.
As the violence escalates in Gaza, tempers flared in Miami. Police say they arrested more than ten protestors on Biscayne Boulevard just outside the Israeli Consulate offices.
The second of two rallies held to call for peace in Gaza was held in Miami Sunday. Thousands of Palestinian supporters lined one side of the street and thousands of Jews lined the other. At times, their chants evolved into physical altercations; that is when police stepped in, slamming some protestors to the ground and hauling them away in handcuffs.
All that followed an earlier rally in Miami Beach in front of the holocaust memorial. Both sides were also represented in large numbers there as well. The idea behind both events was to raise awareness of Israeli invasion into Gaza and the lives lost during the conflict.
"They need to recognize that there's a humanitarian crisis," said one Palestinian protestor. "They need to listen to the United Nations."
"These are murderous people and they must be stopped," said one Jewish protestor. "They target innocent individuals, caring very little for human life."
Sunday's rallies were among several hosted by both sides in the last few weeks. Despite protestors' goals of reconciliation, the gathers illustrate a growing divide from Gaza to Miami in a battle that just seems endless.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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