Washington DC – Hours before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived at the U.S. Capitol to address Congress, a woman with a blue scarf obscuring her face sat alone on a park bench and waved a Palestinian flag near Union Station in Washington, D.C.
“We will fight for freedom wherever it is denied to us around the world. We connect with Palestinians because we are freedom fighters here in the United States,” the lone protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
She was one of thousands of protesters who would eventually gather in the capital to demonstrate against the Israeli prime minister's speech.
As U.S. lawmakers cheered Netanyahu inside the domed building, activists outside called for him to be tried for abuses related to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many argued that Netanyahu is a war criminal who belongs in jail, not in the halls of Congress.
Protesters held effigies of a bloodstained Netanyahu, waved Palestinian flags and chanted “Free Palestine” as the Israeli prime minister spoke.
Top Republican and Democratic lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives invited Netanyahu to address the joint session of Congress.
But despite the show of bipartisan support, dozens of lawmakers boycotted Wednesday's speech, echoing concerns expressed by protesters.
Irene Ippolito, a protester dressed in a red keffiyeh, described congressional leaders as a “bunch of sycophants” for bringing Netanyahu to Congress.
“We have to take to the streets. We have to say: ‘Not in our name,’” Ippolito told Al Jazeera. “As American citizens, we have to realize that this couldn’t be happening without our taxpayers sending tons of weapons to Israel as it slaughters men, women and children in Gaza.”
He added that the atrocities in Gaza are the “most documented genocide in human history.”
Security measures
Protesters like Ippolito braved scorching summer heat, blocked roads and faced a heavy police presence as they arrived at the rally site just west of the Capitol. Some even came from across the country.
As the protest continued, organizers led a march east through the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Law enforcement officers had cordoned off the Capitol with a metal fence earlier this week.
But on Wednesday morning the security perimeter was extended, preventing vehicles and pedestrians from approaching the building. Groups of heavily armed police and security personnel in riot gear were visible throughout the area.
Capitol Police said they used pepper spray against protesters who had “become violent,” without providing further details.
Al Jazeera witnessed harsh exchanges between officers and protesters, but no clashes or physical violence.
Adam Abusalah, an Arab-American activist from Dearborn, Michigan, said it was a “disgrace” that Netanyahu was invited to speak before Congress.
“It's a disgrace that members of both parties invited him to speak here. It's a disgrace that Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party's virtual nominee, is meeting with him,” Abusalah told Al Jazeera at an anti-Netanyahu protest near the Capitol.
“We are here to say that enough is enough. As Americans, we will not tolerate this.”
Harris, who as vice president has the ceremonial role of presiding over the Senate, was at an event in Indianapolis and did not attend Netanyahu's speech on Capitol Hill.
But he is scheduled to meet with him later this week.
The vice president is now the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
The Biden administration has authorized more than $14 billion in military aid to Israel to help fund the war effort, while offering the U.S. ally diplomatic cover in international forums.
“He has no right to be here”
Some of the protesters’ anger on Wednesday was directed at the US president. “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide. We accuse you of genocide,” they chanted.
Karim, a Palestinian-American protester who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he would not support Harris for president after she served as Biden's vice president.
Instead, he said he would vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, who spoke at the rally.
Karim arrived in Washington, D.C., on a bus with dozens of protesters on Wednesday and expressed bewilderment that Netanyahu was invited to speak on Capitol Hill.
“He has no right to be here,” he told Al Jazeera. “We do not support war criminals. We do not support genocidal maniacs.”
In his remarks to U.S. lawmakers, Netanyahu defended the Israeli war, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, displaced more than 80 percent of Gaza's population and pushed the territory to the brink of famine.
He also vowed to fight until “total victory” despite US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire deal.
The Israeli prime minister has lashed out at anti-war protesters in the United States, accusing them of siding with Hamas.
“Those protesters who support them should be ashamed of themselves,” Netanyahu said.
He also called protesters outside the Capitol “Iran’s useful idiots,” earning him a standing ovation from U.S. lawmakers.
'Hitler number two'
On the streets of Washington, protesters had nothing but contempt for the Israeli leader. Several signs compared him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Protester Sarah Bowls said senior lawmakers who invited Netanyahu to the US Capitol should be “ashamed” of themselves.
“We should boycott him. He should be arrested. He should be in The Hague,” she said, referring to the Dutch city where the International Criminal Court (ICC) is based.
ICC prosecutors are seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Bowls added that she is “fed up” with her government continuing to fund and enable “genocide” against Palestinians.
Jenny Bennett, who traveled from Dayton, Ohio, to join the rally, also rebuked Netanyahu.
“He is the second Hitler,” Bennett told Al Jazeera. “This is not right. We are all equal. This is genocide and it must end now.”
