Gaza solidarity camp established across from White House

WASHINGTON

Pro-Palestinian protestors set up a Gaza solidarity camp late Saturday across from the White House.

The encampment in the Ellipse, the 52-acre park directly south of the White House, was established after thousands of demonstrators gathered Saturday outside the White House to protest US President Joe Biden’s policy regarding the Israeli onslaught in the Gaza Strip, principally the invasion of Rafah.

Wearing red, the protestors surrounded the building with a two-mile red banner to symbolize Biden's "red line" concerning Israel’s invasion of Rafah.

Biden previously said an invasion of Rafah would cross a "red line," but senior US officials were quick to backtrack on those remarks, saying the president did not set any "red lines" for Israel as it carries out its offensive.

Police tightened security and put additional safety measures, including anti-scale fencing, near the White House complex.

"Biden, We Are Your Red Line," protesters said, urging the president to stop the “genocide” in the besieged enclave. They also demanded a halt to sending weapons to Israel.

Some of the banners read: "Genocide Is Our Red Line", "Biden's Red Line Was A Lie", "Hands Off Rafah! Stop The Genocide", "End All US Aid to Israel", "Stop Arming Israel", "Lift the Siege on Gaza Now" and "Arms Embargo on Israel".

Carrying Palestinian flags, the protesters also chanted slogans against the president, saying: "Biden you can't hide, we charge you with genocide!"

Biden is currently on a state visit to France.

The president has faced a wave of nationwide protests for his handling of the Gaza conflict.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7 despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,800 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.