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05-11-2023
WASHINGTON DC: Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the United States capital to demand a ceasefire in Gaza as Washington continues to resist calls for an end to the war despite the mounting death toll.
The demonstrators in Washington, DC on Saturday directed their anger towards US President Joe Biden, accusing him of enabling genocide against Palestinians.
“Biden, Biden, you can’t hide; we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chanted.
United Nations experts have warned of a growing risk of genocide in Gaza amid Israel’s relentless bombardment of the enclave, which was launched in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israeli communities.
The UN’s Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, including killings and measures to prevent births.
The Biden administration has urged Israel to “minimise” civilian casualties, but also insisted that it is not drawing any “red lines” for how the US ally conducts its military operations.
Biden has also requested more than $14bn in aid for Israel from Congress to help fund the current war in Gaza, which has killed at least 9,488 Palestinians, according to health authorities in the Hamas-governed enclave.
Many protesters at Saturday’s rally called for an end to US assistance to Israel. The demonstration stretched several blocks from Freedom Plaza, near the White House, eastward towards the US Capitol.
Media spoke too many of the protesters. Here’s what they had to say:
Nidaa, who chose to be identified by her first name only, said her family in Gaza is experiencing constant bombardment with no safe place in the entire territory.
“Stop the war. Stop the bombing. Stop this genocide in Gaza that’s the number one message we are sending today, and I hope our government will listen to us. I hope our people in Gaza, in Palestine in general, know that we are here. Hopefully, they will hear our voices to at least to cheer them up a little bit that they are not alone.”
Alkuraey, who travelled to Washington, DC from South Florida to join the protest, voiced anger at the US and international reaction to the conflict.
“Palestinians haven’t had freedom for over 70 years. And it’s time that we make our voice heard, and we start telling the world that this is not right.”
Horowitz stressed the need for a ceasefire, calling the carnage in Gaza an “abomination”. He also slammed the Biden administration’s call for humanitarian pauses as insufficient.
“We should be calling for a ceasefire, and instead they’re talking about a ‘pause’, which isn’t really a stoppage of anything. They’re going to let the supply trucks through, and then they’re going to continue to fight. It’s a euphemism and the public doesn’t understand that. It really is not a ceasefire.” (Int’l News Desk)
