The White House is preparing for large pro-Hamas demonstrations to mark eight months since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, with barricades set up outside the presidential palace and security stepped up on Saturday.
Israel’s retaliatory invasion of the exclave began after Hamas massacred 1,200 Israeli civilians on October 7.
Protesters are often known to be violent, so a fence has been erected around the White House grounds as a second line of defense after the larger barrier that already surrounds the grounds.
“Because events in Washington, D.C. this weekend may attract large crowds, additional public safety measures, including security fencing, are being taken near the White House,” the Secret Service said. a spokesperson told The Hill.
Protesters plan to wear red and surround the White House, a reference to the “red line” that President Biden gave Israel during the Rafah invasion.
“Biden can’t draw the line, but we can. On June 8th, we will come together from across the country and surround the White House. We will wear red, raise our demands high and show the world that we are the red line,” said Answer Coalition, an activist group taking part in the demonstrations. Declaration on the website.
“We demand an immediate ceasefire, an immediate end to the blockade of Gaza, the release of all Palestinian prisoners, and an end to the occupation of Palestine.”
Pro-Hamas mobs have been hounding Biden and pro-Israel Democrats across the country urging them to call for a ceasefire to destroy the terror group, and national Democrats are preparing for a show of force by far-left Hamas supporters at their party’s August convention in Chicago.
Biden is in France taking part in celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings during World War II, which will provide some respite from the unrest expected outside the White House.
A state dinner and military parade will be held in his honour on Saturday.
