Thousands of people, including Jews against Israel's crimes, gathered in Washington to call for a cease-fire, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to address the U.S. Congress
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024.
"The hypocrisy of our (U.S.) politicians today has gone beyond any limits," Mo, a 58-year-old protester, told AFP.
Protesters against the war in Gaza and U.S. weapons sales to Israel gather outside the U.S. Capitol before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address to a joint session of Congress
Netanyahu will address Congress later Wednesday in a high-profile speech to the US government, Israel's steadfast ally in its war against Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators carry a representation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a protest on the day of Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 24, 2024.
Relations have grown strained as the civilian death toll in Gaza due to Israel's massacres has grown, leading to protests in the United States and increasing criticism from President Joe Biden's administration, though little has changed in the way of U.S. military support.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are removed by United States Capitol Police while protesting in the Cannon House Office Building on the eve of the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July 23, 2024.
"Seek peace and pursue it," read one sign, quoting a Bible verse, while others were designed as criminal "wanted" signs, with photos of Netanyahu in place of a mugshot.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in the Cannon House Office Building on the eve of the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, on Capitol Hill.
"Arrest that war criminal," read another.
"We are horrified by the destruction of the health system in Gaza," Karameh Kuemmerle, of the organization Doctors Against Genocide, told AFP.
"And we are here to show our opposition to having the criminal Netanyahu come to our capital and being greeted by the politicians who sent him weapons to kill children in Gaza," the doctor, who traveled to Washington from Boston, said.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are removed by United States Capitol Police while protesting in the Cannon House Office Building on the eve of the visit of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, on Capitol Hil.
Protesters with the Jewish group 'T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights' pray to end the war in Gaza, outside the U.S. Capitol before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers an address to a joint session of Congress, July 24,v2024.
Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress comes amid a close 2024 U.S. presidential election cycle. Netanyahu becomes the first leader to address the U.S. Congress four times.
