A whole lot of pro-Palestinian protesters march in Washington

Washington. A whole lot of protesters marching close to the Capitol chanted pro-Palestinian slogans and criticized the governments of Israel and the US as they commemorated the ache of the current — the warfare in Gaza — and the previous: the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or have been expelled from what’s now Israel, when that State was created in 1948.

About 400 protesters braved regular rain to march on the Nationwide Mall on the 76th anniversary of what’s often known as the Nakba, an Arabic phrase which means disaster. In January, 1000’s of pro-Palestinian activists gathered within the US capital in one of many largest protests in current reminiscence.

There have been calls in help of Palestinian rights and a direct finish to Israel’s navy operations in Gaza. “There will likely be no peace on stolen lands,” and “finish the murders, cease the crimes/Get Israel out of Palestine,” the group chanted.

Protesters additionally expressed their anger at US President Joe Biden, whom they accused of feigning concern over the loss of life toll in Gaza.

“Biden Biden, you will see/genocide is your legacy,” they chanted. The Democratic president was in Atlanta on Saturday.

Reem Lababdi, a sophomore at George Washington College who says she was sprayed with tear gasoline by police final week — when she broke right into a protest camp on campus — acknowledged that the rain might have deterred many individuals from help.

“I’m happy with every of the individuals who attended on this local weather to say what they assume and ship their message,” she mentioned.

This yr’s commemoration was fueled by anger over the siege of Gaza. The newest warfare between Israel and Hamas started when the armed group and different militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing about 1,200 individuals and taking one other 250 hostage. The group nonetheless holds about 100 captives. For its half, the Israeli military has killed greater than 35,000 individuals in Gaza, in keeping with the Gaza Ministry of Well being, which doesn’t point out who have been civilians and who have been combatants.