(WASHINGTON) — Hundreds of protesters rallied Wednesday within sight of the Capitol building, denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hours before he was set to address members of Congress.
Protesters carrying signs that read “arrest Netanyahu” and “end all US aid to Israel” shouted “Free, free Palestine,” a day after a sit-in at a congressional office building that ended with multiple arrests.
Several protesters erected a large effigy of Netanyahu with devil horns and blood dripping from its mouth. Police lining Pennsylvania Avenue led away several protesters who were sitting in the street.
Protest leaders said six intersections leading to the Capitol have been “claimed by the Palestinian people.” Organizers had said in advance that they would try to block Netanyahu’s route to the building.
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Zeina Hutchinson, director of development for the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, read off the names of several Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military.
“We protest this homicidal maniac, his supporters and his enablers,” she shouted from the stage. “And we demand his arrest.”
Some of the demonstrations have condemned Israel, but others have expressed support while pressing Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal in the war with Hamas and bring home the hostages still being held by the militant group.
The Capitol Police said about 200 people were arrested Tuesday on charges stemming from the sit-in at the Cannon House Office Building. Jewish Voice for Peace said many more than that were arrested, rabbis among them.
Police have significantly boosted security around the Capitol and closed multiple roads for most of the week. Workers erected a black metal fence around the White House on Wednesday morning.
Dozens of protesters rallied outside Netanyahu’s hotel Monday evening after his arrival in Washington, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators staged a flashmob-style protest in the Cannon building, which houses offices of House members.
Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” took over the building’s rotunda, sat on the floor, unfurled signs and chanted “Let Gaza Live!”
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After about a half-hour of protesters’ clapping and chanting, officers from the Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting demonstrators — binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one by one.
“I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and I know what a Holocaust looks like,” said Jane Hirschmann, a native of Saugerties, New York, who drove down for the protest along with her two daughters — both of whom were arrested. “When we say ‘Never Again,’ we mean never for anybody.”
The demonstrators turned much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.
“We’re not focusing on Netanyahu. He’s just a symptom,” Hirschmann said. “But how can (Biden) be calling for a cease-fire when he’s sending them bombs and planes?”
Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said his office called for Capitol Police intervention after the demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly and attempting to force entry into the office.”
Kildee later told The Associated Press that he was confused why his office was targeted, given that he had voted against a massive supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.
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Families of some of the remaining hostages held a protest vigil Tuesday evening on the National Mall, demanding that Netanyahu come to terms with Hamas and bring home the approximately 120 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.
About 150 people wearing yellow shirts that read “Seal the Deal NOW!” chanted “Bring them home” and listened to testimonials from relatives and former hostages. The demonstrators applauded when Biden’s name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname “Bibi” — on the belief that he was dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed cease-fire deal that would return all of the hostages.
“I’m begging Bibi — there’s a deal on the table and you have to take it,” said Aviva Siegel, 63, who spent 51 days in captivity and whose husband, Keith, remains a hostage. “I want Bibi to look in my eyes and tell me one thing: that Keith is coming home.”
Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet Thursday, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity before a White House announcement. Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet Netanyahu separately that day.
Harris, as Senate president, would normally sit behind foreign leaders addressing Congress, but she will be away Wednesday, on an Indianapolis trip scheduled before Biden withdrew his reelection bid, which made her the likely Democratic presidential candidate.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri and Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report.