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WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of people protesting Israel’s war in Gaza marched Wednesday in Washington, 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.
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 the 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.
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.”
At 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.
Police said they used pepper spray after some protesters became “violent" and “failed to obey” orders to move back from the police line.
“We are deploying pepper spray toward anyone trying to break the law and cross that line,” Capitol Police said in a post on X.
Among the protesters was a group of artists from Baltimore displaying a massive papier-mâché sculpture meant to depict President Joe Biden with blood on his hands and devil horns. They said the sculpture took months to construct and is meant to represent Biden’s unwillingness to stand up to Israel.
Mary Kaileh, a Palestinian woman who moved to the U.S. from the West Bank 17 years ago and now lives in Baltimore, said her people have been ignored and mistreated for decades. She’s not convinced protests will change anything in terms of convincing American politicians to act, but she wasn’t about to stay home.
“I love it, but I don’t see the effects of it,” she said.
While many of the demonstrators have condemned Israel, others have expressed support while pressing Netanyahu to strike a cease-fire deal in the war with Hamas and bring home the hostages still being held by the militant group.
Many Jewish Americans view the war in Gaza as just because it came in response to the brutal Oct. 7 Hamas attack, even if they don’t outright support Netanyahu and his policies. The families of hostages taken by Hamas are also protesting, demanding Netanyahu agree to a cease-fire deal that would free their loves ones.
Police have significantly boosted security around the Capitol and closed multiple roads for most of the week. Workers erected a metal fence around the White House on Wednesday morning while tall steel barriers ringed the Capitol. Security officers were deployed on foot, bicycle and with dogs around the building and in hallways inside.
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.
The Capitol Police said about 200 people were arrested Tuesday on charges stemming from the sit-in at the Cannon building. Jewish Voice for Peace said many more than that were arrested, rabbis among them.
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?”
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.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said on Truth Social that he would meet with Netanyahu on Friday.
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Associated Press writers Olla Mokhtar, Olivia Diaz and Lea Skene contributed to this report.