Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in the rain in the capital to commemorate the present and painful past

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of demonstrators gathered within sight of the U.S. Capitol, chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and voicing criticism of the Israeli and American governments as they represented a painful present — the war in Gaza — and a past — the mass exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who have besieged Gaza. They fled or were forced to leave what is now Israel when the state was created in 1948.

About 400 demonstrators braved incessant rain to gather on the National Mall on the 76th anniversary of the so-called Nakba, the Arabic word for disaster. In January, thousands of pro-Palestinian activists gathered in the country’s capital in one of the largest protests in recent memory.

There were calls to support Palestinian rights and immediately stop Israeli military operations in Gaza. The phrases “No peace on stolen lands” and “Stop the killing, stop the crime/Get Israel out of Palestine” chanted among the crowd.

The demonstrators also focused their anger on President Joe Biden, whom they accuse of feigning concern over the death toll in Gaza.

“Biden, Biden, you will see your legacy of genocide,” they said. The Democratic president was in Atlanta on Saturday.

Reem Lababdi, a sophomore at George Washington University, who said she was pepper-sprayed by police last week when they broke up a protest camp on campus, acknowledged that the rain seemed to bring down the numbers.

“I am proud of everyone who came out in this weather to voice their opinions and send their message,” she said.

This year’s commemoration was fueled by anger over the ongoing blockade of Gaza. The latest war between Israel and Hamas began when Hamas and other militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking an additional 250 hostage. Palestinian militants are still holding about 100 prisoners, and the Israeli army has killed more than 35,000 people in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

Speaker Osama Abu Ershad, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, pointed to the dome of the Capitol building behind him.

“This Congress does not speak for us. He said that this Congress does not represent the will of the people. “We pay for the bombs. We pay for the F-16s and F-35s. And then we serve the poor Palestinians and send them some food.”

Speakers also expressed outrage at the violent crackdown on numerous pro-Palestinian protest camps on campuses across the country. In recent weeks, police have dismantled long-term camps in more than 60 schools; Just under 3,000 protesters were arrested.

“Students are the conscience of America,” said Abu Irshad, who compared the university demonstrations to previous protest movements against the Vietnam War and apartheid-era South Africa. “That is why the authorities are working hard to silence them.”

In addition to pressing Israel and the Biden administration for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza, activists have long pushed for the right of return for Palestinian refugees — an Israeli red line during decades of start-and-stop negotiations.

After the Arab-Israeli War that followed the establishment of Israel, Israel refused to allow them to return because that would have led to a Palestinian majority within Israel’s borders. Instead, they have become a seemingly permanent refugee community now numbering about 6 million, most of whom live in slum-like urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Gaza, refugees and their descendants make up about three-quarters of the population.

At several points during the rally and subsequent march, demonstrators conducted a call-and-answer, with the speaker naming various cities in Israel and the occupied territories. Reply: “Right!” – Arabic means “I’m coming back!”

The demonstrators marched for several blocks on Pennsylvania and Constitution streets, and police cars closed the streets in front of them. One of the opposition demonstrators, waving the Israeli flag, tried to walk near the front of the procession. At one point, one of the demonstrators grabbed his flag and fled.

As tensions rose, members of the protesters’ “safety team” formed a tight phalanx around the man, blocking his advance and protecting him from enthusiasts in the crowd. The confrontation ended when a police officer intervened, took the man away and told him to go home.

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Associated Press writer Joseph Krause in Jerusalem contributed to this report.