WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of protesters gathered within sight of the U.S. Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and chanting pro-Israel slogans, marking the harrowing current and past exodus of some 700,000 people from the Gaza war. He voiced criticism of the government and the U.S. government. Palestinians who fled or were chased out of present-day Israel when it was established in 1948.
Approximately 400 demonstrators braved the rain to gather on the National Mall. nakba, catastrophe in Arabic. In January, thousands of pro-Palestinian activists gathered in the nation’s capital in one of the largest protests in recent memory.
Voices spoke out in support of Palestinian rights and an immediate end to it. Israeli military operations in Gaza. “There is no peace on stolen land” and “Stop the murders, stop the crimes/Get Israel out of Palestine” chants echoed through the crowd.
Demonstrators have also focused their anger on President Joe Biden, who has expressed concern over the death toll in the Gaza Strip.
“Biden, Biden, you will see that genocide is your legacy,” they said. The Democratic president was visiting Atlanta on Saturday.
Reem Rababudi, a sophomore at George Washington University, said she was pepper-sprayed by police during a breakup last week. Protest camp on campusacknowledging that rain likely pushed the numbers down.
“I’m so proud of each and every person who spoke out and sent messages in this weather,” she said.
This year’s commemorations were fueled by anger over the ongoing siege of Gaza.Latest israel-hamas war It began when Hamas and other armed groups stormed into southern Israel. October 7th, Murder Approximately 1,200 people participated, and an additional 250 were taken hostage. Palestinian militants still hold about 100 prisoners, and Israeli forces have killed many more. 35,000 people in GazaAccording to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Speaker Osama Aburshad, executive director of Muslims for Palestine America, gestured toward the Capitol dome behind him.
“This Congress does not represent us. This Congress does not represent the will of the people.” “We’re paying for the bombs. We’re paying for the F-16s and F-35s. And we’re doing the poor Palestinians a favor and sending them food.”
Speakers also expressed anger at the violent crackdown on multiple pro-Palestinian protest camps at universities across the country. In recent weeks, police have destroyed long-term camps at more than 60 schools. Just under 3,000 protesters were arrested.
“Students are the conscience of America,” Abuirshad said, likening the campus protests to the Vietnam War and earlier protests against apartheid-era South Africa. “That’s why the authorities are working so hard to silence them.”
In addition to calling on Israel and the Biden administration to immediately end hostilities in Gaza, activists have long advocated the right of return for Palestinian refugees, a red line that Israel cannot cross in decades of start-and-cease negotiations. I’ve done it.
After the Arab-Israeli war following the establishment of the state of Israel, Israel refused to allow Palestinians to return on the grounds that they would become the majority within Israel’s borders. Instead, they have become a seemingly permanent refugee community, now numbering around 6 million, mostly in urban areas like the slums of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. I live in a camp. Refugees and their descendants make up about three-quarters of Gaza’s population.
At several points during the rally and subsequent march, demonstrators held call-and-response sessions in which speakers named various Israeli cities and occupied territories. The answer is “Lage!” — Arabic for “I’ll be back!”
Demonstrators marched for several blocks along Pennsylvania Avenue and Constitution Street, in front of which police cars blocked off the road. One counter-demonstrator attempted to march near the front of the procession, waving an Israeli flag. At one point, one of the protesters snatched the flag and fled.
As tensions rose, members of the demonstrators’ “safety team” formed a tight formation around the man, blocking his progress and protecting him from impatient members of the crowd. The confrontation ended when officers intervened and removed the man and told him to go home.
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Associated Press writer Joseph Kraus in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
