Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Holds Overnight, But Tensions Remain High In New York City & Abroad
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement Thursday after nearly 11 days of violence and hundreds of deaths.
President Joe Biden said it could serve as a starting point for lasting peace in the region, but tensions remain high, even in New York City.
An M-80 blast contributed to chaos Thursday in Times Square, injuring at least one person. Dozens of people were taken into police custody after pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters squared off.
On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo instructed the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to help the NYPD investigate an attack against a Jewish man in the nearby Diamond District.
CBS2's John Dias spoke with Alain Sanders, a political science professor at St. Peters University in Jersey City.
"The solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict will not be solved in the streets of New York or in the streets of Paris or in the streets of any other country, except at a negotiating table somewhere between the two parties," he told Dias.
Sanders said since we live in a city and nation of immigrants, world affairs are felt strongly here, but he's hopeful things will calm down now that a ceasefire has been reached.
"History suggests that this will be a truce, and it will be a truce that lasts for a while, and then there will be a flare up again," he said.
He believes the peace in the Middle East came about, in part, due to Biden and his quiet strategy. Until Thursday night, the president said very little in public about the violence.
"Anything public in this conflict has proven to be counter productive, it hasn't yielded any results," Sanders said. "He did not condemn Israel, he did not make bold statements against Palestinians. He worked quietly, diplomatically, and really in a smooth way."
The White House focused on what it called "quiet, intensive diplomacy," but the administration said it was in consistent contact with both sides and called Middle East leaders more than 80 times in the past week.
"I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity and democracy," Biden said Thursday night.
More demonstrations are scheduled Friday in New York City, as well as this weekend.
