Pro-Palestinian Protestors Burn American Flag Near US Congress During Netanyahu's Visit

On Wednesday, pro-Palestinian protestors lowered and burned an American flag near the US Congress, raising a Palestine flag in its place. The protests coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address, criticizing US Middle Eastern policies and Israeli actions in Gaza and Palestine. Law enforcement arrested 23 protestors, facing clashes and property defacement.

Pro-Palestinian protestors caused a stir on Wednesday by lowering and burning an American flag just blocks away from the US Congress. The demonstrators replaced the flag with that of Palestine, coinciding with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a Joint Session of the US Congress.

The protest, staged near Union Station, attracted several hundred participants who voiced their discontent with US policy in the Middle East and criticized the Israeli bombing of civilians in Gaza and other regions of Palestine. The incident led to the arrest of six individuals by local police, with videos surfacing online showing protestors chanting pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli slogans.

Netanyahu's visit prompted widespread demonstrations across the city, with protestors defacing historic monuments and chanting slogans against him near his hotel. Authorities installed barricades around key government buildings and offices, including the White House and the US Capitol, to control the situation, even resorting to pepper spray at times. According to 'The Washington Post,' 23 people were arrested during the demonstrations, which included the setting ablaze of an effigy of Netanyahu and spray-painting messages like 'Free Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' on the Christopher Columbus fountain.

(With inputs from agencies.)