Hundreds of Pro-Palestine Jewish supporters stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, demanding a ceasefire between Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
According to videos shared on social media platform X, the demonstrators staged a sit-in at a rotunda in the Capitol Complex.
According to videos shared on social media platform X, the demonstrators staged a sit-in at a rotunda in the Capitol Complex.
They wore black shirts and held up banners saying 'Jews say ceasefire now', 'Not in our name', 'Mourn the dead' and 'Let Gaza live'.
The demonstrations were backed by the progressive Democrats, including Palestinian-American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, who addressed the gathering before it entered the Capitol.
“If we don’t get back to our shared humanity, I don’t think we will ever be able to come back from this,” remarked Tlaib, who has been critical of US President Joe Biden over his support to Israel.
Tlaib stated that a lot of people around the world weren’t going to forget Biden’s actions during the current crisis.
“And to our President, I want him to know. As a Palestinian-American and someone of Muslim faith, I am not going to forget this. And I think a lot of people are not going to forget this,” Tlaib stated.
Meanwhile, the Capitol Police said that it started arresting protestors as they refused to heed the warning of not complying with the directive to leave.
Reports suggest that more than 300 protestors were arrested.
U.S. Capitol Police officers detain demonstrators protesting inside the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023.
© AP Photo / Mariam Zuhaib
Biden’s Support for Israel Amid Gaza Hospital Bombing
In a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden remarked that it appeared that bombing of the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza was done by the "other side".
The US President said that the bombing, which has been described as a “war crime” by many, was “the result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza.”
The IDF said that the rocket launch was a result of a “failed rocket launch” by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
However, Hamas and Palestinian authorities continue to hold the IDF responsible for the attack.
In a parallel development, the US vetoed a Brazils-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council calling for a “humanitarian pause” on hostilities in Gaza, the second resolution it has vetoed this week.
The US was the only country to vote against the resolution.
US Ambassador to UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, claimed that she voted against the resolution as it didn’t mention Israel’s “right to defend itself”.