Sound Transit’s International District/Chinatown Station was closed for more than two hours Saturday as protesters opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza blocked the station.
The light rail agency first closed the station’s north entrance, then closed the whole station at about 4 p.m. and serviced the area with buses heading north to Pioneer Square Station or south to Stadium Station. The station reopened at about 6:30 p.m.
Organizers targeted Sound Transit because of its contracts with Siemens, a German company that has delivered rail cars for the local transit agency and that protesters say is working on a project to connect power from “Israel’s illegal settlements in occupied Palestine” to power grids in Europe.
The local branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Palestinian Youth Movement and others organized the demonstration, according to a post online advertising the protest.
Sound Transit has not indicated plans to alter its agreements with Siemens. Protesters staged a similar demonstration at the U District Station last month.
