Washington, DC – On Saturday, February 17, thousands of pro-Palestine protesters marched on the U.S Capitol building in DC to demand justice for Rafah and an end to the siege on Palestine.

The action, hosted by Doctors Against Genocide, alongside Palestinian Youth Movement, was held as part of a Global Day of Action for Palestine. The demands of the protest called for the reinstatement of funding for UNRWA, a United Nations humanitarian aid and relief agency for Palestinian refugees, as well as an embargo on arms sales to Israel.

The protesters intended to march all the way to the building but were stopped by Capitol Police on the grounds of “not securing proper permits.” This prompted members of PYM and other organizations to speak on the interconnectedness of the struggle for community control of the police domestically, and how DC police are trained by Israeli Defense Forces in occupied Palestine. “MPD, KKK, IOF they’re all the same!” chanted the protesters.

Between chants of “In our millions and our billions, we are all Palestinians” and “Congress, Congress, you can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” representatives from many organizations, including the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR), and Students for Socialism, led chants and addressed the crowd.

“We know that the cops who harass, attack, and kill Black people in the U.S. are trained by the Zionist police, the IOF, and the Mossad,'' said Katie Sayour, who spoke on behalf of DCAARPR. We know that the enemies of the Palestinian people, the monopoly capitalists, and the war profiteers, are our enemies too.”

Additionally, a Palestinian-American nurse spoke on her experiences volunteering in Gaza, lamenting the brutal conditions the Zionist entity created in occupied Palestine, stating, “Out of 36 hospitals, there are only five partially functioning hospitals left. I was hoping to use my knowledge and skills to heal the wounded, but what I found was devastating and beyond repair.”

The demonstration ended with calls from the Palestinian Youth Mnovement for protesters to remain active and organized, as well as to stay vigilant on the situation in Rafah.

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