Activists demand Netanyahu's arrest in Palestine solidarity protest outside White House
Washington DC - Palestine solidarity protesters rallied outside the White House on Tuesday amid mounting calls for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit with Donald Trump.
A large crowd of people wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags gathered to denounce the arrival in the US of Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
"We're here because Netanyahu is here. In fact, right now, they're probably having a meeting," CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin says in a video shared to social media.
"It's just so surreal almost that the first foreign head of state to come and visit Trump in the White House is a guy who has an arrest warrant out for him by the International Criminal Court," she adds.
During Netanyahu's visit, Trump revealed plans for a US takeover of Gaza and full-scale ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territory. He said the US would "level the site" and "own it," referring to Gaza, while Palestinians indigenous to the area would have to "go to other countries."
Netanyahu welcomed the news, hailing Trump as the "greatest friend Israel has ever had."
Protesters on Tuesday rejected the evil scheme with repeated chants of "Palestine is not for sale."
Palestinian Americans urge DOJ to enforce Netanyahu arrest warrant
Also on Tuesday, the Center for Constitutional Rights submitted a request to the US Department of Justice on behalf of Palestinian Americans calling for a criminal investigation into Netanyahu and the enforcement of his ICC arrest warrant.
"The person who is responsible for the killing and displacement of my entire family in Gaza, and who has an outstanding ICC warrant for his arrest, is being greeted with a red carpet at the White House. This is shameful, and sends the world a message that there is no accountability for genocide," Basim Elkarra, executive director of CAIR Action, said in a press release.
Elkarra was one of five Palestinian-American signatories to the submission who were also plaintiffs in a historic lawsuit accusing former President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin of complicity in genocide.
A federal judge in Oakland dismissed the case on jurisdictional grounds. Despite the unfavorable result, the ruling upheld that there was a likely case of genocide happening in Gaza with "unflagging support" from the Biden administration.
"As a Palestinian-American from Gaza whose family members have suffered immeasurably to Israel’s ongoing assault, I find it appalling that President Trump is meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu – a man facing International Criminal Court arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity," said Laila Elhaddad.
"This meeting is yet another reminder of how Israeli officials complicit in atrocities continue to be shielded by political power rather than held accountable. This is not diplomacy, it is complicity: justice demands action, not handshakes with war criminals."
Cover photo: REUTERS