On Saturday, a sizable pro-Palestine demonstration erupted outside the White House fence. Protesters criticized the Joe Biden-led administration’s backing of the Jewish state and called for an end to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Approximately 30,000 demonstrators began gathering outside the fortified Executive Mansion on Saturday at midday as part of a weekend protest that led to tightened security around the White House.
Many images of the protest, featuring demonstrators holding signs with messages such as ‘End the siege on Gaza now,’ ‘Free Palestine,’ and ‘End US military funding to Israel,’ went viral on social media. The images prominently featured demonstrators, primarily dressed in red.
To symbolize the ‘red line’ violated by Israel with its operation in Rafah, a southern Gaza city where hundreds of Palestinians have been seeking refuge since the start of the war, some protestors formed a line around the White House and draped a two-mile-long banner.
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Some demonstrators captured on social media footage set fire to flares and then hurled them outside the White House gates. Additionally, some individuals threw flare bombs onto the White House lawn.
The Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, informed The Washington Examiner that no arrests had been made as of yet. The rally has caused road closures, particularly on the route leading directly to the White House.
Videos: Pro-Palestine protesters surround White House, throw smoke flares pic.twitter.com/EPXMB6s5Ds
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Since Joe and his wife, as well as First Lady Jill Biden, are in France commemorating D-Day, the demonstration took place while they were away from the house.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations have plagued the US for months, resulting in large arrests and disturbances at universities as protestors set up encampments on the campuses of Ivy League universities. Additionally, marches occurred in Washington, vigils were held outside the White House, and roadblocks were established in other locations around train and airline terminals as part of the protests.
Meanwhile, at least eight officials have left the Biden administration, claiming disagreements with his Israel policy.
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