Posted by a pro-Hamas group video The group claimed on social media on Wednesday that it had released maggots, mealworms and crickets throughout the hotel where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his delegation are staying, during their visit to Washington DC this week.
One of video A video posted by the Palestinian Youth Movement showed larvae and insects crawling on tables in what appeared to be a conference room inside the Watergate Hotel, while other videos showed crickets hopping around on the floor in several parts of the hotel.
of Palestinian Youth Movement“Serve you right!! Unleash the maggots on the criminal Zionist war table!” the group, which describes itself as a “transnational, independent, grassroots movement”, posted on social media.
“Palestinian protesters caused chaos at the Watergate Hotel last night, denying Prime Minister Netanyahu, Israeli Mossad agents and the Secret Service peace as they continue to terrorize our people,” the group added.
The Watergate Hotel New York PostHe described the situation as “unfortunate.”
“Our top priority is the safety and health of our guests and staff. We have taken the necessary steps to ensure the facility is sanitized and is currently open for business as usual,” the hotel told the news outlet. “We are cooperating fully with authorities who are dealing with the situation. As this is an open incident we are unable to provide any further details at this time.”
The protesters also admitted to setting off a fire alarm at the hotel the night before the prime minister was due to address parliament, claiming the sabotage was “to ensure that Prime Minister Netanyahu and parliament have no time to rest before they are humiliated in front of the world.”
The break-in raised questions about security measures around the Capitol during Netanyahu’s visit, following the Secret Service’s admission of botched responses to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. This week’s incident is not the first time that disorderly protesters have broken into a hotel in an attempt to disrupt the sleep of people staying there temporarily. Blaze News senior political editor and Washington correspondent Christopher Bedford said activists had set off a fire alarm late at night at a hotel where John McCain’s family was staying ahead of his 2018 memorial service.
A police source told The Post that the conference room seen in the protester’s video “is not included in the security plan agreed with Israeli security services or our local partners.”
A Secret Service spokesman said the group’s infiltration did not pose a threat to the Israeli delegation at any point.
“The Watergate complex is a vast expanse of land and remains open for businesses, residences and guests,” a spokesman told The Post.
A spokesperson for the DC Fire and EMS said the department had deployed a fire inspector to the hotel at the request of the Secret Service. The Washington Post After the fire alarm was reportedly sounded, authorities “determined it was not a fire emergency and the fire department response was discontinued,” a spokesperson told the news outlet.
The Palestinian Youth Movement also stationed protesters outside the hotel, staging noisy demonstrations every morning and evening to ensure that the prime minister had “no time to rest during his stay.”
“From groups to individuals, all of Washington, D.C., opposes allowing war criminals to remain in our city,” an organizer with the group’s DMV chapter told The Washington Post.
“This reflects a major security failure on their part,” the organizers said of law enforcement. “The city of Washington and the United States government have stolen tens of millions of dollars to roll out the red carpet for war criminals, yet they still can’t stop someone from doing something as simple as dropping maggots on the Watergate Hotel.”
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