Washington DC – Hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the US Capitol to deliver a speech to Congress, a woman with a blue scarf hiding her face sat alone on a park bench and waved a Palestinian flag near the Union Station in Washington, DC.
“We will fight for freedom wherever it is denied throughout the world. We connect with the Palestinians because we are freedom fighters here in America,” the lone protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
She was one of thousands of protesters who would eventually gather in the capital to protest the Israeli prime minister’s speech.
As US lawmakers cheered Netanyahu inside the domed building, activists outside called for him to stand trial for abuses linked to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many have argued that Netanyahu is a war criminal who belongs in prison and not in the halls of Congress.
Protesters held effigies of blood-stained Netanyahu, waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” as the Israeli prime minister spoke.
Top Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives invited Netanyahu to speak before the joint session of Congress.
But despite the show of bipartisan support, dozens of lawmakers boycotted Wednesday’s speech, echoing concerns expressed by protesters.
Irene Ippolito, a protester dressed in a red keffiyeh, described the Congress leadership as a “bunch of sycophants” for bringing Netanyahu to Congress.
“We need to be here. We need to say, ‘Not in our name,’” Ippolito told Al Jazeera. “As American citizens, we must realize that this could not happen without our taxpayer dollars sending tons of weapons to Israel as it massacres men, women and children in Gaza.”
She added that the atrocities in Gaza are the “most documented genocide in human history.”
Security measures
Protesters like Ippolito faced scorching summer heat, blocked roads and a heavy police presence as they arrived at the rally site west of the Capitol. Some even arrived from all over the country.
As the protest continued, organizers led a march east through the Capitol neighborhood.
Law enforcement officials cordoned off the Capitol with a metal fence earlier this week.
But on Wednesday morning they expanded the security perimeter, keeping away vehicles and pedestrians that approached the building. Groups of heavily armed officers and security officers in riot gear could be seen throughout the area.
Capitol Police said they used pepper spray against activists who “became violent,” without providing further details.
Al Jazeera witnessed harsh exchanges between officers and protesters, but no confrontations or physical violence.
Adam Abusalah, an Arab-American activist from Dearborn, Michigan, said it is a “disgrace” that Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress.
“It is a disgrace that members of both parties invited him to speak here. It’s a shame that Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, is meeting with him,” Abusalah told Al Jazeera at an anti-Netanyahu protest near the Capitol.
“We are here to say that enough is enough. As Americans, we will not tolerate this.”
Harris – who, as vice president, has the ceremonial role of presiding over the Senate – was at an event in Indianapolis and did not attend Netanyahu’s speech at the Capitol.
But she is due to meet with him later this week.
The vice president is now the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
The Biden administration has authorized more than $14 billion in military aid to Israel to help finance the war effort, while also offering the US ally diplomatic cover in international forums.
‘He has no right to be here’
Some of the protesters’ anger on Wednesday was directed at the US president. “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. We accuse them of genocide,” they shouted.
Karim, a Palestinian-American protester who wished to be identified only by his first name, said he would not support Harris for president after she served as Biden’s vice president.
Instead, he said he would vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who spoke at the rally.
Karim arrived in Washington, DC, on a bus with dozens of protesters on Wednesday, and expressed bewilderment that Netanyahu had been invited to speak at the Capitol.
“He has no right to be here,” he told Al Jazeera. “We do not support war criminals. We do not support genocidal maniacs.”
In his remarks to US lawmakers, Netanyahu defended the Israeli war, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, displaced more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population and brought the territory to the brink of famine.
He also vowed to fight until “total victory” despite US-led efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement.
The Israeli prime minister lashed out at anti-war protesters in the US, accusing them of siding with Hamas.
“These protesters who are with them should be ashamed of themselves,” Netanyahu said.
He also called protesters outside the Capitol “useful idiots from Iran,” earning a standing ovation from U.S. lawmakers.
‘Hitler number two’
On the streets of Washington, D.C., protesters felt nothing but contempt for the Israeli leader. Several posters compared him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Protester Sarah Bowls said top lawmakers who invited Netanyahu to the US Capitol should be “ashamed” of themselves.
“We should boycott him. He should be arrested. He should be in The Hague,” she said, referring to the Dutch city where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based.
ICC prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Bowls added that she is “fed up” that her government continues to fund and allow “genocide” against Palestinians.
Jenny Bennett, who traveled from Dayton, Ohio, to join the rally, also warned Netanyahu.
“He’s Hitler number two,” Bennett told Al Jazeera. “This is not okay. We’re all the same. This is genocide and it needs to end – now.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
