Israeli regime's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians since the start of the Gaza war, on Wednesday, delivered a speech to Congress, taking on protesters inside the House chamber and thousands gathered outside the Capitol.
It was his first address to US lawmakers in nearly a decade and the first since the start of the genocidal war of the Zionist regime after Hamas' Oct. 7 operation.
As US legislators clapped for Netanyahu inside the domed edifice, activists outside called for him to be tried for abuses linked to Israel’s war in Gaza. Many argued that Netanyahu is a war criminal who belongs in jail, not in the halls of Congress.
The demonstrators held effigies of a blood-stained Netanyahu, waved Palestinian flags and chanted “free Palestine” as the Israeli prime minister spoke.
Top Republican and Democratic legislators in both the Senate and House of Representatives invited Netanyahu to speak before the joint session of Congress.
But despite the bipartisan show of support, dozens of lawmakers boycotted the address on Wednesday, echoing concerns voiced by the demonstrators.
Around half of Congress' Democrats skip Netanyahu speech : Axios
Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, according to an Axios headcount.
Why it matters: Many lawmakers, particularly progressive Israel critics, made clear they were explicitly boycotting the event in protest of Netanyahu's prosecution of the war in Gaza.
Among the boycotters are former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
Isolationist Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) made clear he was explicitly boycotting the speech as well, saying he didn't want to be a "prop" for Netanyahu.
Public reactions to Netanyahus' Congress speech
Thousands of protesters gathered on Wednesday within sight of the US Capitol building, denouncing Israel’s war in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hours before he was set to address members of Congress.
Protesters carrying signs that read “arrest Netanyahu” and “end all US aid to Israel” shouted “Free, free Palestine” a day after a sit-in at a congressional office building that ended with several arrests.
Protest leaders said six intersections leading to the Capitol have been “claimed by the Palestinian people”. Organisers had said in advance that they would try to block Netanyahu’s route to the building.
Zeina Hutchinson, director of development for the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, read off the names of several Palestinian journalists killed by the Israeli military.
“We protest this homicidal maniac, his supporters and his enablers,” she shouted from the stage. “And we demand his arrest.”
“We will fight for freedom wherever it’s being denied all over the world. We connect with the Palestinians because we are freedom fighters here in America,” the lone protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday.
Jenny Bennett, who travelled from Dayton, Ohio, to join the demonstration, also admonished Netanyahu.
“He is Hitler number two,” Bennett told Al Jazeera. “This is not OK. We are all equal. This is a genocide, and it needs to end — now.”
Anger of social media activists
Following the start of the brutal war of the Israeli regime in Gaza and especially after the shameful presence of Netanyahu at the US Congress, some media activists from all over the world expressed their anger on social media platforms.
"There is a child killer and war criminal speaking at the US Congress now. Shame!," wrote a journalist.
"This world is hypocritical because it allows this person, responsible for killing 50,000 people in #Gaza in 200 days, to give a speech in the US Congress!! This killer of children and women, should be in prison, not on the Congress platform," says a Palestinian influencer on X account.
"Let the free world stand united in the face of these two brutal killers, Netanyahu and Biden, the killers of the children of Gaza," Yemeni Writer & Researcher Nabil Albokairi wrote on his X account.
"Even if the world is silent, we will not be silent! Even if the world stops, we will not stop! Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine!," Lokman AYAOĞLU, vice president of Great Unity Party of Turkey wrote on his X account.
"Israel is a terrorist base, İsrael terrorist , the killer Netanyahu," he added.
Reported by Marzieh Rahmani
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