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People protesting Israel’s war in Gaza marched in D.C. Wednesday, chanting “Free, Free Palestine" as they filled blocks of city streets and police used pepper spray on demonstrators while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress.
Six people were arrested in the House Gallery after they “disrupted the address,” police said.
Demonstrators calling for an end to the war that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians marched toward the Capitol but were blocked by police from getting closer to the building. Then they headed toward Union Station, where protesters removed American flags outside the rail terminal and hoisted Palestinian flags in their place. Cheers rang out as the final flag was raised.
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Demonstrators rallied near the Capitol before marching toward the building ahead of Netanyahu’s address to the joint session of Congress. After blocking a nearby intersection, protesters chanted, “Shut it down!” as they marched behind a banner that said “Globalize the student intifada.”
Thousands of people weaved through streets carrying Palestinian flags and signs with messages such as “Arrest Netanyahu” and “End all U.S. aid to Israel.”
“Bibi, Bibi, We’re not done! The intifada has just begun!” they shouted, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Other protesters chanted, “Netanyahu, you can’t hide. You’re committing genocide.”
Outside Union Station, protesters climbed a flag pole and chanted “Shame on you” as police dragged somebody away. At least two people were seen being treated for the effect of chemical agents to the eyes.
News4 video shows American flags, Israeli flags and an effigy of Netanyahu on fire.
U.S. Capitol Police said in a post on X before 2 p.m.: “Part of the crowd has started to become violent at First Street and Constitution Avenue, NW. The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line. We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.”
The prime minister was greeted by House Speaker Mike Johnson as he arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Capitol, where Netanyahu was seeking to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas.
Drivers in D.C. are advised to expect major rolling road closures, especially around the Capitol.
A diverse group of peoplefrom across the country, including those from Palestinian and Jewish communities, attended the demonstration. Protest leaders said six intersections leading to the Capitol were “claimed by the Palestinian people.” Organizers had said in advance that they would try to block Netanyahu's route to the building.
Johnson warned of a “zero-tolerance policy” for any signs of disturbances in the Capitol building. He arranged Netanyahu’s address, an honor that marks both countries’ historically strong bonds and the political weight that support for Israel has long carried in U.S. politics.
After blocking one intersection, protesters repeatedly chanted, “Shut it down!” as they marched behind a banner that said “Globalize the student intifada.”
“Bibi, Bibi, We’re not done! The intifada has just begun!” they shouted, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. Other protesters chanted, “Netanyahu, you can't hide. You're committing genocide."
Many in swelling crowds of demonstrators outside the Capitol were protesting the killings of Palestinians in the war. Others condemned Netanyahu's inability to free Israeli and American hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
Zeina Hutchinson, director of development for the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, read off the names of several Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military.
“We protest this homicidal maniac, his supporters and his enablers,” she shouted from the stage. “And we demand his arrest.”
Several protesters erected a large effigy of Netanyahu with devil horns and blood dripping from its mouth.
In fiery speech to Congress, Netanyahu seeks support for war in Gaza
Netanyahu lauded U.S.-Israeli unity and praised President Joe Biden in a fiery speech to Congress. Nine months into the war in Gaza, Netanyahu sought to bolster U.S. support for his country’s fight against Hamas and other Iran-backed armed groups.
“America and Israel must stand together. When we stand together something really simple happens: we win, they lose.” said Netanyahu, who wore a yellow pin expressing solidarity with the Israeli hostages held by Hamas. He lambasted American protesters of the war as “useful idiots” of Iran.
Freed former hostages of Hamas and families of hostages listened in the House chamber as Netanyahu spoke. Lawmakers of both parties rose repeatedly to applaud the Israeli leader, while security escorted out protesters in the gallery who rose to display T-shirts with slogans demanding that leaders close a deal for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages.
Netanyahu accused the numerous protesters of the war in the United States of standing with the militants who he said killed babies in Hamas' attack on Oct. 7. “These protesters that stand with them, they should be ashamed of themselves," he said.
With criticism against him rising in Israel, too, Netanyahu also aims to portray himself as a statesman respected by Israel’s most important ally. That task is complicated by Americans’ increasingly divided views on Israel and the war, which has emerged as a key issue in the U.S. presidential election.
Noa Argamani, an Israeli hostage who was freed in a rescue mission in Gaza, was in attendance.
The appearance makes Netanyahu the first foreign leader to address a joint meeting of Congress four times, surpassing Winston Churchill.
More than 50 Democrats and political independent Bernie Sanders boycotted Netanyahu's speech. The most notable absence was right behind him: Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, said a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
The next Democrat in line, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, declined to attend, so Sen. Ben Cardin, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, served as “senator pro tempore” in place of her.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat who has family in the West Bank, sat in the House chamber with a keffiyeh, which she often wears, wrapped over her shoulders. She could be seen holding a small sign that read “Guilty of Genocide.” Tlaib was censured last year for her strident criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war.
Republicans said the absence of Harris, the new Democratic front-runner for the presidency, was a sign of disloyalty to an ally. Former President Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, was also a no-show for Netanyahu's speech, citing the need to campaign.
Netanyahu received a warm welcome from House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republican lawmakers who arranged his speech in the House chamber. “Today and every day, America must stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel,” Johnson said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters arrested on Capitol Hill on Tuesday
The Capitol Police said about 200 people were arrested Tuesday on charges stemming from the sit-in at the Cannon House Office Building. Jewish Voice for Peace said many more than that were arrested, rabbis among them.
Police have significantly boosted security around the Capitol and closed multiple roads for most of the week. Workers erected a black metal fence around the White House on Wednesday morning.
Dozens of protesters rallied outside Netanyahu's hotel Monday evening after his arrival in Washington, and on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of demonstrators staged a flashmob-style protest in the Cannon building, which houses offices of House members.
Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” took over the building's rotunda, sat on the floor, unfurled signs and chanted “Let Gaza Live!”
After about a half-hour of protesters' clapping and chanting, officers from the Capitol Police issued several warnings, then began arresting demonstrators — binding their hands with zip ties and leading them away one by one.
“I am the daughter of Holocaust survivors, and I know what a Holocaust looks like,” said Jane Hirschmann, a native of Saugerties, New York, who drove down for the protest along with her two daughters — both of whom were arrested. “When we say ‘Never Again,’ we mean never for anybody.”
The demonstrators turned much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.
“We’re not focusing on Netanyahu. He’s just a symptom,” Hirschmann said. “But how can (Biden) be calling for a cease-fire when he’s sending them bombs and planes?”
Congressman calls for help as demonstrators try to “force entry into the office’
Mitchell Rivard, chief of staff for Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said his office called for Capitol Police intervention after the demonstrators “became disruptive, violently beating on the office doors, shouting loudly and attempting to force entry into the office.”
Kildee later told The Associated Press that he was confused why his office was targeted, given that he had voted against a massive supplemental military aid package to Israel earlier this year.
Families of some of the remaining hostages held a protest vigil Tuesday evening on the National Mall, demanding that Netanyahu come to terms with Hamas and bring home the approximately 120 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza.
About 150 people wearing yellow shirts that read “Seal the Deal NOW!” chanted “Bring them home” and listened to testimonials from relatives and former hostages. The demonstrators applauded when Biden's name was mentioned, but several criticized Netanyahu — known by his nickname “Bibi” — on the belief that he was dragging his feet or playing hardball on a proposed cease-fire deal that would return all of the hostages.
“I'm begging Bibi — there's a deal on the table and you have to take it,” said Aviva Siegel, 63, who spent 51 days in captivity and whose husband, Keith, remains a hostage. “I want Bibi to look in my eyes and tell me one thing: that Keith is coming home.”
Biden and Netanyahu are expected to meet Thursday, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity before a White House announcement. Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet Netanyahu separately that day.
Harris, as Senate president, would normally sit behind foreign leaders addressing Congress, but she will be away Wednesday, on an Indianapolis trip scheduled before Biden withdrew his reelection bid, which made her the likely Democratic presidential candidate.
Trump said on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.
Here’s full info on DC road closures all week during Netanyahu’s visit
Drivers are advised to expect rolling road closures that change as demonstrators' locations change.
Around Washington Hebrew Congregation on Macomb Street NW, heightened security and road closures were in place as of midday Wednesday. Netanyahu was set to attend a memorial service for Sen. Joe Lieberman.
The following streets will be posted as "Emergency: No Parking" Wednesday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue between 7th Street and 3rd Street NW
- Constitution Avenue between 15th Street and 3rd Street NW
- Independence Avenue between 14th Street and 3rd Street SW
- Maryland Avenue between Independence Avenue and 3rd Street SW
- 3rd Street between Constitution Avenue NW and Independence Avenue SW
- 7th Street between Pennsylvania Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
- Jefferson Drive NW between 3rd Street and 7th Street
- Madison Drive NW between 3rd Street and 7th Street
The following street will be closed to vehicles Wednesday from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.:
- Pennsylvania Avenue between Constitution Avenue and 3rd Street NW
Any vehicles parked in violation of "no parking" signs will be ticketed and towed.
The following streets are posted as "Emergency: No Parking" through Saturday at 3 p.m.:
- Virginia Avenue from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue NW
- Jamal Khashoggi Way from Virginia Avenue to F Street NW
- F Street from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street NW
- 27th Street from Virginia Avenue to K Street NW
- 2600 block of I Street NW
The following streets are closed to vehicles through Friday, July 26 at 6 a.m.:
- Rock Creek Parkway from Virginia Avenue NW to South Potomac River Freeway
- Virginia Avenue NW from Rock Creek Parkway to New Hampshire Avenue NW (eastbound lanes)
- Jamal Khashoggi Way (southbound lanes) from Virginia Avenue NW to F Street NW
- F Street, NW from Rock Creek Parkway to 25th Street NW
- 27th Street from Virginia Avenue NW to K Street NW
- 2600 block of I Street NW
- The ramp to 27th Street from northbound Potomac River Freeway
- All traffic traveling south on Rock Creek Parkway will be diverted east on I Street from Virginia Avenue NW to Potomac River Freeway. Westbound traffic on Virginia Avenue NW will be able to turn north on Rock Creek Parkway. All traffic from Ohio Drive SW will be diverted north on Potomac River Freeway.
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