The US president is under heavy criticism in the US, from people who believe he is not doing enough to influence the Israeli government and the way it conducts its campaign in Gaza.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered near the White House in Washington on Saturday to express their anger at Joe Biden and his policies, which they describe as too conciliatory towards Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Fairs “from (Washington) to Palestine we are the red line”protesters held a long banner bearing the names of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army after eight months of conflict.
The US president is under heavy criticism in the US, from people who believe he is not doing enough to influence the Israeli government and the way it conducts its campaign in Gaza.
Joe Biden has offered unconditional support to Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, but judged in March that a major offensive in Rafah was “a red line” not to cross.
Tom Brenner/REUTERS
But in the wake of a deadly attack in May on this city in the southern Gaza Strip, the White House declared that this “Red Line” had not been crossed. “I no longer believe anything Joe Biden says”said Zaid Mahdawi, a 25-year-old protester from the neighboring state of Virginia whose parents are Palestinian. “This ‘red line’ in his rhetoric is nonsense”he adds to AFP, condemning “hypocrisy and cowardice” according to him from the US President. Tala McKinney, a 25-year-old carer, says she hopes the conflict ends soon. “but it is clear that our president does not live up to his word”.
The protesters, mostly dressed in red, held Palestinian flags and signs “Biden’s red line was a lie”or “Bombing children is not self-defense”.
A few months before the presidential election, which will pit him against his rival and Republican predecessor Donald Trump, Joe Biden is under pressure to secure the support of Muslim and young voters traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party. “It is very disappointing to have a president who does not keep his word”, Tala McKinney said. She says she will vote neither for Donald Trump nor for Joe Biden in November, but instead for a third candidate.
