Austin, TX – Over 3000 people gathered Sunday, May 19, outside of the Texas Capitol building for a statewide pro-Palestine march for Nakba Day.

The city ordered state troopers to shut down the Capitol grounds and tried to demand $50,000 to let people protest there, but the Austin community still came out in droves to show their support for Palestine and condemn U.S. aid to Israel.

People filled the streets, chanting, “Free Palestine!” and “Occupation no more!”

Nura Abdelwahed, an organizer with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said, “Our people have exposed that the so-called military stronghold in the Middle East, is nothing but a paper tiger!” She continued, “We will not let fascists like Greg Abbott beat our movement into submission!”

After the speeches, the crowd started marching. After a few blocks an organizer was arrested, prompting the crowd to start chanting, “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be!” and “APD, KKK, IDF, they're all the same!”

Despite the police repression, the march continued with no more arrests made until the crowd reached the Capitol building where at least one other person was arrested. Back at the Capitol, organizers led the crowd in one more round of the chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

#Austin, TX #PYM #Palestine #Nakba