As you may recall, Israel was at war with Hamas-controlled Gaza around eight months ago, and last week, thousands took to the streets to protest against the Biden administration and its support for Israel. The demonstration, anticipated to comprise approximately thirty thousand individuals endorsing the Palestinian cause, started assembling at the Executive Mansion from midday on Saturday, June 8.
More demonstrators came to the protest from around the nation carrying a massive, two-mile-long red banner organized by Answer Coalition, a popular activist organization. The banner referred to the ‘red line’ they agreed that the Biden administration has crossed in extending support to Israel on its invasion of Rafah.
But in a video posted on X, the group said, “More than 75000 protesters for #ThePeoplesRedLine stand in DC and encircles the Whitehouse Today this two-and-a-half mile banner displays the more than 40,000 Palestinians killed by Israel since October 7th.”
The Answer Coalition’s concerns were explained on their website, and the demands of the group say, “We are demanding an end of the shooting, an end to the targeting of Gaza, the release of all Palestinian prisoners and no more occupation of Palestine.”
There were also videos recorded on social media in which fires of smoke bombs were started, and the latter was tossed onto the lawn of the White House by some of the protesters. Furthermore, recently, protesters painted the monument of the seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, located just outside the White House and added “Free Gaza “and “Boycott Israel Products” slogans.
In preparations for the protest, the American Secret Service reinforced the White House complex with extra anti-scale barriers and cited concerns about large crowds in DC over the weekend.
The huge protest rally indicates that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains an acute issue on the political agenda worldwide. At the same time, Biden’s administration is expected to increase pressure and develop new approaches to the problem.
