Thousands March in Washington, Calling for Ceasefire in Palestine

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Washington: Tens and thousands of demonstrators rallied and marched in Washington, on Saturday to demand an end to Israel’s deadly military campaign in Gaza, marking almost 100 days since the start of the Israel-Palestinians war that is killing 250 Palestinians per day. 

The march, one of the biggest in this capital city, was led by a coalition of pro-Palestinian groups who are calling for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, an end to US funding for the Israeli military, and for Israel to be held accountable for war crimes and violations of international law.

At a rally on Freedom Plaza, speakers shared stories of victims in Gaza, and marchers walked several blocks before arriving in front of the White House. Protesters carried signs listing the names of Palestinians killed and accusing President Joe Biden of participating in a ‘genocide’.

Israel’s siege of Gaza has killed more than 23,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, since it declared war on October 7.

One of the organising groups in Washington, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that they had sent a letter to the White House calling on the president to secure a complete and verifiable ceasefire,” the release of all hostages in Gaza and political prisoners in Israel, and the termination of unconditional US financial and diplomatic support for the Israeli government.

The letter also called for Israeli officials to be held accountable for the Gaza genocide” and the initiation of credible negotiations for a just and enduring peace by ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

The rally in Washington is the second in the US capital since the current Israeli offensive began on October 7. The Gaza Health Ministry has estimated that at least 23,708 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 60,000 wounded in the Israeli action, the vast majority civilians.

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Earlier this week, South Africa accused Israel of genocide in a case brought to the International Court of Justice, charging that Israel’s far-right government was intent on destroying the Palestinians in Gaza and creating conditions calculated to bring about their physical destruction.

Among those addressing the crowd in Washington, by video link, was Al Jazeera journalist Wael al-Dahdouh, whose wife, daughter, two sons, and a grandchild were killed by Israeli airstrikes. Also speaking were long-shot US presidential candidates Cornel West and Jill Stein, as well as the daughter of Malcom X, Ilyasah Shabazz.

Al-Dahdouh spoke about the dire conditions Palestinians in Gaza are struggling to exist in while under Israeli bombardment.

The people are paying an exorbitant price and are living a disastrous life, he told the crowds in Washington. People do not have sustenance, food or drink, a place to sleep, a bathroom, or what is necessary for a life—not for a decent life, but rather what is basically necessary to maintain life. 

Al-Dahdouh himself was injured in an Israeli airstrike that also killed his camera operator, Samer Abu Daqqa.  The whole world must look at what is happening here in the Gaza Strip, he told Al Jazeera last week. What is happening is a great injustice to defenceless people, civilian people.

Mohamad Habehh, a director of development for American Muslims for Palestine and lead organiser of Saturday’s event, told the Washington Post that organisers had picked this weekend to honour the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday in the US and to mark 100 days of war by Israel in Gaza. 

We’re past three months of constant killing, Habehh said. We feel that it is important for us to come on this holiday weekend in the spirit of MLK (Martin Luther King, Jr.). ‘ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We must stand up against the injustice that’s going on in Gaza right now and against the atrocities that are being supported and promoted by our government.

Speaking at the rally, Taher Herzallah, the director of outreach for American Muslims for Palestine, said the conflict in Gaza had given the people of the global south the clarity to rise together in unison.”

In New York, the United Nations said it was working flat out to meet the dire needs of hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians through one door at the Rafah crossing, a restriction imposed by Israel that has to change, said the newly-appointed UN Resident Coordinator on Saturday.

At least 200 truckloads each day are needed, and despite the outstanding efforts of national and international partners, UN humanitarians are stuck having to bring all supplies through a single choke point on Gaza’s southern frontier with Egypt, built as a pedestrian crossing, said Jamie McGoldrick.