Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Washington D.C. on Saturday, surrounding the White House and demanding President Biden to halt all military aid to Israel and push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. The protesters, mostly dressed in red and waving Palestinian flags, marched around the parkland where the White House is located, causing a stir among tourists and leading to a heavy police presence.
While President Biden was in France for a state dinner with President Macron, the protesters made their voices heard, criticizing the administration’s response to the conflict and urging young and nonwhite voters to reconsider their support for the president in the upcoming election.
One of the organizers, Nas Issa, expressed her disappointment in Biden’s handling of the situation, stating that she could not confidently vote for him if he did not hold Israel accountable for its actions. The protesters laid out red paper with the names of over 36,000 Palestinians killed in the conflict, symbolizing a red line that, if crossed, would prompt Biden to stop weapons shipments to Israel.
Despite the passionate pleas from the protesters, the Biden administration has not changed its stance, stating that recent Israeli strikes did not meet the threshold for halting aid. The protesters emphasized their main demand for the freezing of all weapons shipments to Israel until the conflict ends, highlighting the billions of dollars in military aid the U.S. provides to Israel.
As the protest concluded, no arrests were made, but statues in Lafayette Square were vandalized with messages supporting Palestine. While some slogans chanted by the protesters were deemed controversial, one protester clarified that their goal was not violence against Jewish people but resistance against the current situation.