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According to reports from the Huffington Post and The Hill, on July 23, local time, the day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to deliver a speech at a joint session of the U.S. House and Senate, police arrested hundreds of protesters who were demonstrating on Capitol Hill. These people called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and an arms embargo on Israel.

US police arrest protesters Source: Reuters

According to reports, more than 400 protesters, most of whom were Jews, wore red T-shirts with slogans such as "Jews demand an end to arming Israel" and "Not in our name" and held a sit-in demonstration in the rotunda of the Cannon Office Building on Capitol Hill. Before the Capitol Police arrived at the scene, the protesters chanted slogans demanding "liberation of Palestine" and "end of genocide against Palestinians." The on-site video showed that before dispersing these people, the police snatched the banners from the protesters and arrested them.

The U.S. Capitol Police posted on the social platform X on the afternoon of the 23rd, "We are arresting a group of people who were illegally demonstrating in the rotunda of the Cannon Office Building. Demonstrations are not allowed inside the Capitol... We told those people to stop or they would be arrested. They didn't stop, so we arrested them." At around 4:30 p.m., the Capitol Police Department sent a message saying that the protesters in the rotunda had been cleared and stated that "the number of arrests tonight will be announced after the final number is obtained."

According to reports, the protest was organized by the Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace. The group's director Stefanie Fox said in a statement, "For nine months, we have watched in horror as the Israeli government, armed and funded by the United States, committed genocide. The (US) Congress and the Biden administration now have the power to end this terror... However, our president is preparing to meet with Netanyahu, and congressional leaders have invited him to address Congress. Enough is enough. Biden and Congress must listen to the voice of the people: we need an arms embargo now to save lives."

The Huffington Post said that the incident on the 23rd may be a preview of a larger protest during Netanyahu's speech to Congress on the 24th. Netanyahu hopes to get more support from the United States on the Israeli army's military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

According to reports, the Israeli prime minister's visit to the United States has aroused the anger of some American politicians and the public, who believe that this move is a gesture of goodwill to the leader who commanded the army to kill more than 39,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Several major American labor unions sent a letter to Biden on the 23rd, asking him to stop letting the United States fund Israel's military offensive. Some labor unions said they plan to mobilize the public in Washington on the 24th to oppose Netanyahu's visit.

Some Democratic lawmakers have said they intend to boycott Netanyahu's speech. U.S. Vice President Harris' office said Harris would not host the speech due to a pre-booked event. A spokesman for Senate Democratic Speaker Pro Tempore Patty Murray said Murray was the second choice to host Netanyahu's speech after Harris, who also serves as Senate Speaker, but she also refused to host. Not only that, Murray will not attend the speech at all.

In addition, US Republican vice presidential candidate Cyrus Vance will not attend the speech. However, House Republican Speaker Johnson warned against holding protests during the speech.