Israel ceasefire demonstration erupts into chaos with 150 'violently protesting'

16 November 2023 , 03:54

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The clashes Wednesday evening are the latest example of roiling tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas (Image: Getty Images)

Protests erupted into violence in Washington DC amid calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Police in the nation’s capital responded Wednesday night to crowds outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee calling. U.S. Capitol Police said about 150 people were “illegally and violently protesting” near the DNC headquarters building in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood of Washington. Members of Congress were evacuated from the building as the protest erupted.

Video posted on social media showed protesters shoving police officers and trying to grab hold of metal barricades as the officers moved in to make arrests. The videos also show officers shoving protesters. Many of the protesters were wearing black shirts that read “Cease Fire Now.”

READ MORE: Joe Biden shares 'only answer' to bringing deadly Israel war to an end

Protesters included members of If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace, who have organized other demonstrations in Washington. If Not Now posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “police are being extremely violent. We are linking arms, threatening no one, and begging our politicians to support an end to the killing and the suffering in Gaza. Begging, peacefully, for a ceasefire,” the group posted.

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Protesters included members of If Not Now and Jewish Voice for Peace, who have organized other demonstrations in Washington (X)

The clashes Wednesday evening are the latest example of roiling tensions over the war between Israel and Hamas. President Joe Biden has been under increasing pressure from the Democratic Party’s left flank over his support for Israel’s military operation, including interruptions from protesters at his speeches. He has resisted calls for a cease-fire, instead saying there should be pauses in the fighting to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the potential extraction of hostages.

Last week, a large number of House Democrats joined nearly all Republicans in voting to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, over her criticism of the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians. Tlaib, who has family in the West Bank, came under heavy criticism after she failed to immediately condemn Hamas after the attack. She since has called out the terrorist group while also calling for a cease-fire.

Anti-Israel protests erupts into violence outside the DNC Headquarters in DC (@TheUzairIqbal/X)

The Metropolitan Police Department said its officers also responded to the disturbance. Officials sent an alert to congressional staffers telling them no one would be permitted to enter or exit any House office buildings. Rep. Brad Sherman, a California Democrat, said he was evacuated from the building by police after protesters began “pepper spraying police officers and attempting to break into the building.”

The clashes came as a rare press conference was held on Wednesday evening, in which President Joe Biden addressed the nation following his four-hour meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping — but the biggest bombshells from that conference came from questions he answered about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Protesters had gathered to demand a ceasefire in the Israel Gaza conflict (X)

Biden essentially detailed what he believed it would take for the war to end and bluntly outlined American foreign policy as it relates to Israel, Palestine and Hamas militants.

"I think this is going to stop when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder and abuse and just do horrific things to the Israelis," he said, labeling the organisation as a terrorist group that wants to slaughter Israelis at every opportunity. He also noted that Hamas officials have warned that another attack is on the way.

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference (AP)

As the Israeli military makes its moves, however, he emphasised that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) "acknowledge that they have an obligation to use as much caution as they can in going after their targets." This comes after reports of the IDF bombing hospitals, refugee camps and UN bases, slaughtering entire families in their homes as they sheltered, just as Hamas militants did in Israeli villages on October 7.

Biden said Hamas isn't playing fairly, however, noting that many of their major bases are found in tunnels underneath the hospitals in question and that it can be difficult to weed them out when they base themselves in such places. He told reporters that he believed that they were the first to commit war crimes because of the location of their bases.

Abigail O'Leary