33 pro-Palestinian demonstrators arrested outside military subcontractor’s factory in Niles

Thirty-three pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Wednesday after blocking traffic near a military subcontractor’s plant in suburban Niles.

More than 100 protesters gathered about 6 a.m. outside Woodward Inc., 6300 W. Howard St., saying the firm played a role in the deaths of thousands of people in Gaza.

Activists say Woodward was responsible for manufacturing missile control actuation systems for Boeing that have been used to drop bombs on Gaza in the last four months. Protesters demanded the company end its complicity in the Israel-Hamas war by terminating its contracts with Boeing.

The war, triggered by the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas assault on southern Israel, has left more than 27,000 Palestinians dead and close to 67,000 wounded in Israel’s offensive, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, which does not differentiate in its count between civilians and combatants but says two-thirds of those killed were women and children.

The Hamas attack killed about 1,200 people in Israel, most of them civilians, and about 250 were taken hostage.

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Several protesters bound themselves to each other using PVC pipe, chicken wire and duct tape, according to the Niles Police Department. The group then sat on the roadway and blocked traffic at Croname Road and Howard Street.

The linked protesters were asked to leave the area, but they refused, police said.

Seven men and 26 women were arrested and charged with unlawful assembly, police said. They were processed at the police station and released.

The crowd cleared the area just after noon, police said.

Woodward didn’t reply to a request for comment.

Contributing: The Associated Press