Hundreds gather in Washington in solidarity with Palestinians

As Israeli attacks on Jerusalem and Gaza escalate, hundreds of people gathered in front of the US State Department in Washington on Tuesday evening to protest in solidarity with Palestinians.

Waving Palestinian flags, donning keffiyehs, and holding signs reading "Save Sheikh Jarrah", the demonstrators called on President Joe Biden to condemn the violence against Palestinians and pressure Israel to stop the planned displacement of Palestinian East Jerusalem residents.

"There is no rhetoric to hide behind, but still you continue to fund these killers, this administration should be embarrassed. You should be embarrassed," said Laura Albast, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement.

"We all heard the statements given by the State Department yesterday, shame on you."

The protesters were joined by House Democrats Rashida Tlaib and Andre Carson, who voiced support for stopping US aid to Israel from funding annexation or the demolition of Palestinian homes.

"I'm just not here just as a congresswoman," Tlaib said. "I'm also here as a descendant of the Palestinian people, as a person that is a granddaughter to a sitty (grandmother) that lives in the occupied territories - as the daughter of a mother who watched her homeland completely being destroyed."

The rally was organised by a coalition of groups including American Muslims for Palestine, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Jewish Voice for Peace. 

It came after the organisations sent a petition to the State Department, signed by more than 200,000 people, that called on the administration to pressure Israel to end the forced removal of Palestinian families from their homes across the Occupied Territories.