The White House condemned the anti-Israel agitators who descended on Washington DC on Wednesday in protest at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
“It is shameful to align yourself with an evil terrorist organization like Hamas and to burn the American flag or forcibly remove it and replace it with another,” White House press secretary Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital on Wednesday night.
“Anti-Semitism and violence will never be tolerated. Period. All Americans have the right to peaceful protest. But shamefully, not everyone was peaceful today.”
Anti-Israel agitators stage massive protests in Washington DC during Netanyahu’s US visit
A U.S. Park Police officer aims a pepper spray canister at a demonstrator during a pro-Palestinian protest on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., on July 24, 2024, the day Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress. (Reuters/Seth Herold)
Hundreds of pro-Hamas protesters gathered in Washington DC on Wednesday and were seen burning an American flag, writing graffiti outside Union Station and chanting “Allah is great.”
‘Chicken for KFC’: Netanyahu slams ceasefire activists in parliament speech while Tlaib protests silently
Pro-Palestinian protesters burned an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside Union Station on July 24, 2024, the day Netanyahu spoke to a joint session of Congress in Washington, US. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
At Union Station, near the US Capitol, agitators burned an American flag, vandalized a statue reading “Here Comes Hamas,” and removed an American flag, replacing it with a Palestinian one.
Netanyahu spoke to parliament on Wednesday amid a war with Hamas that has escalated since October. In his speech, Netanyahu sharply criticized the ceasefire demonstrations that have been taking place across the country since the war began.
Harris boycotts Netanyahu, ignores Israeli leader’s wartime speech and speaks at sorority house
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to parliament (Getty Images)
““I have a message for protesters: You have officially become Iran’s useful fools, because you are being praised, promoted and funded by the tyrants in Tehran who hang gays from cranes and kill women for not covering their hair,” Netanyahu said.
Republicans slammed Harris for declining to address Netanyahu in favor of a sorority house address, calling it “disgraceful.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters burned a US flag at Union Station during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the US on July 24, 2024. Addressing a war-divided US Congress, Netanyahu condemned Gaza ceasefire protesters and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime, which he accuses of funding them. (Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images)
“Some of the protesters are holding up signs in support of gays in Gaza, which is no different from holding up signs saying ‘chicken for KFC’. Protesters are shouting ‘from the river to the sea’, but they have little idea which river or sea they are referring to.”
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Biden has recovered from COVID-19 infection and is returning to the White House from his home in Rehoboth Beach. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
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The White House’s condemnation of the instigators came just before President Biden was to address the nation following his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race amid growing concerns about his mental health.
