AhlulBayt News Agency: Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied outside the US Capitol on Saturday to demand an end to Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip as well as a US arms embargo and sanctions on Israel.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried large signs denouncing the genocide in Gaza and Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. Some signs drew attention to the economic costs of US wars, linking military spending to high prices and low wages at home.
Organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement and other pro-Palestinian groups, the rally and march marked three years since the start of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in October 2023.
Urging renewed pressure on Washington for its military and diplomatic support for Israel, organizers demanded an “absolute arms embargo and sanctions” on Israel.
Nouhad Akkar of the Palestinian Youth Movement told Anadolu that the demonstrators are determined to hold elected officials accountable for US military assistance to Israel.
“We will not let this genocide be normalized,” she said. “We are sending a message to our people in Gaza, to our people in the region, that we will continue to fight for them, not just for an end to the genocide, but until total liberation and return.”
Akkar also urged public institutions to divest from weapons manufacturers supplying Israel. She said her group is campaigning for the state retirement system in Virginia, where many Washington federal government workers live, to withdraw more than $394 million in pension investments in such companies.
“We would like to see elected officials take a stand against the investment of this money,” she said.
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