A protester in a Hamas headband held up a bloody face mask depicting President Joe Biden at an anti-Israel demonstration in front of the White House on Saturday.
The scene came amid a protest that drew thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators to Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Protesters waved Palestinian flags and some wore Hamas emblems while calling on the White House to cut off aid to Israel and demand a stop to the war against Hamas.
Guy in a Hamas headband is holding a mask depicting the bloody head of the US President, while another man behind him burns an American flag…
This is outside of the White House. pic.twitter.com/138FE67dM4
— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) June 8, 2024
Protesters flooded into the area around the White House denouncing Biden as a liar. Demonstrators at times confronted law enforcement around the area. The police presence around the White House was heavy in expectation of the pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas protest.
Some protesters formed a long line in front of the White House, calling it “the people’s red line.” The stunt was in reference to the president saying that Israel had not crossed his own red line in Rafah, the last stronghold of Hamas, according to Fox News. Israel prepared for months to invade Rafah, creating alternate corridors and camps for civilian refugees.
Some of the protesters’ signs depicted messages such as “Biden’s red line was a lie.”
Biden was not in the White House over the weekend. At the time of the protest, the president was in France. On Saturday night, Biden attended a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to The New York Times.
The chaotic demonstration highlights the fractious inner conflicts of the Democratic Party. Progressives are increasingly pushing Biden to take a tough stance against Israel in its fight against the terror group Hamas.
“There is no world in which I can confidently vote for” Biden, Palestinian Youth Movement spokeswoman Nas Issa told the Times Issa’s organization was one of the left-wing groups that organized Saturday’s protest.
If the president “doesn’t change course and hold [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] and the Israeli government at large to account, under what circumstances would it be acceptable to any person of conscience to vote for him?” she said.
Israel declared war on Hamas after hundreds of terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, killing roughly 1,200 people and taking hundreds more captive. Israeli officials have sworn to destroy Hamas, which has controlled Gaza for nearly the past 20 years, building up its forces and creating a vast tunnel network throughout the Gaza Strip.