Liberal activists gathered in Washington, D.C., Saturday to protest against the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The demonstration follows a pattern by progressives seen in recent years, such as in 2020, when nationwide protests erupted in response to the killing of George Floyd by a police officer in Minneapolis.
Activists are demanding President Joe Biden take action to stop Israel's military operation to stomp out Hamas' last remaining stronghold in Rafah. The campaign in the Palestinian city began last month in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, resulting in over 1,200 fatalities and hundreds of hostages taken. Saturday's protests in Washington coincided with news of a successful rescue operation by Israeli forces, which freed four hostages. (RELATED: Biden Pushing Israel To Accept Flawed Gaza Ceasefire Deal)
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Saturday morning that Noa Argamani, 25, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40, were rescued from separate locations in Nuseirat. The IDF confirmed that all four were kidnapped from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7 and are recovering in good condition at the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center while they await further evaluation. According to Gazan authorities, the rescue operation resulted in the deaths of at least 274 Palestinians. (RELATED: Israel's Gaza Refugee Camp ‘Massacre' Caused By Hamas Bombs: Report)
Some members of the Democratic Party were hesitant to celebrate the rescue, highlighting the ongoing intra-party conflict over the seven-month war. Meanwhile, tensions escalated among the protesters, with some expressing more extreme views. (RELATED: Leftist ‘Squad' Member Secretly Watches Extremist Conspiracy Videos)
At one point, demonstrators encircled the mile-long White House perimeter with a red banner displaying the names of over 36,000 Palestinians killed during the war, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The New York Times has the latest:
Holding signs calling Mr. Biden a liar, the protesters, mostly clad in red and bearing Palestinian flags, marched around the block of parkland where the White House sits. They spilled across two six-lane boulevards, pushing out tourists, whose faces showed variations of confusion, anger or intrigue. The police presence was heavy, and the U.S. Park Police used pepper spray against a protester at least once.
Mr. Biden was not at the White House, but in France, where he joined President Emmanuel Macron for a state dinner in Paris on Saturday night. But the dissenting voices in the American capital highlighted the challenges he faces domestically as he tries to carve out a narrow position that both supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hamas and calls for a quick cessation of hostilities.
The pro-Palestinian activists outside the White House, who were highly critical of the Biden administration's response to the war, encouraged a key portion of Mr. Biden's base — young and nonwhite voters — to reconsider their support for the president ahead of the election this fall.
“There is no world in which I can confidently vote for” Mr. Biden, said Nas Issa, a spokeswoman for the Palestinian Youth Movement, one of the left-leaning groups that organized Saturday's protest. If Mr. Biden “doesn't change course and hold Netanyahu and the Israeli government at large to account, under what circumstances would it be acceptable to any person of conscience to vote for him?” she added, referring to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby has stated that the United States would require “a major ground operation” rather than airstrikes to increase pressure on Israel.
On Saturday, a frequently seen picket sign read: “Biden's red line was a lie!”
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