Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the protesters blocked part of Pennsylvania Avenue and held a large Palestinian flag.
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Pro-Palestinian demonstrators block a street during a protest ahead of US President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address near the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (Photo by PEDRO UGARTE / AFP)
Dozens of pro-Palestine protesters held Thursday a demonstration against the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, near the US Capitol, where US President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union speech.
Calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the protesters blocked part of Pennsylvania Avenue and held a large Palestinian flag.
“Biden’s legacy is genocide,” one of the displayed banners read.
#Watch | Pro-#Palestine protesters near the US Capitol display a banner reading, “Biden’s legacy is genocide,” ahead of the President’s #StateOfTheUnion speech.#Gaza pic.twitter.com/11N5t21sPW
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 8, 2024
The demonstration coincides with a similar one outside the White House, where the crowd called on the Biden administration to end its support to the Israeli occupation entity.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the United States has clandestinely approved and executed more than 100 arms deals and foreign military sales to the Israeli regime since the onset of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
Earlier, top US officials revealed that Biden will inform Congress on Thursday that he has directed the US military to establish a port in Gaza to bring more humanitarian supplies into the besieged Strip by sea.
The announcement would allegedly not include any US boots on the ground in Palestine since military forces will remain offshore.
A senior administration official told reporters that Biden plans to make the announcement during his State of the Union address.
“This port, the main feature of which is a temporary pier, will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day,” the official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
According to US sources, the “significant capability will take a number of weeks to plan and execute” and would include a maritime corridor transporting assistance by sea from Cyprus.
A second official stated that it was “foreseen to be an operation that won’t require boots on the ground,” adding that the US military possesses “unique capabilities” that allow them to operate offshore.
The official also divulged that the Israeli administration had been notified, and the US would collaborate with them on “security requirements” while also collaborating with “partners and allies,” including the UN and assistance groups on the ground.
Read more: ‘Nervous’ Democrats press Biden on Gaza ahead of State of Union: NYT
