A number of pro-Palestinian protesters entered a congressional hearing discussing possible aid to Israel, disrupting the proceedings Tuesday. The incident during the Senate hearing comes just weeks after a number of other pro-Palestinian protesters entered the U.S. Capitol complex.
During the hearing on the Biden administration’s request for $75 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine, protesters entered the hearing. Some of the protesters had their hands painted in red.
The protesters shouted a number of slogans, including calling for a cease-fire in the war between Hamas and Israel.
One sign read, “From Palestine to Mexico all walls have got to go” and “No walls no war.”
Another sign said, “No more $$$ 4 Israel.” The protester holding the sign was removed by police while shouting that the “American people don’t want to support this brutal war. Stop the war. Cease-fire now.”
The protester also called the current situation in the Middle East a “brutal massacre.”
Another disruptor called Israel’s current war against Hamas a “genocide.”
The incident occurred while Secretary of State Antony Blinken was speaking. Following the interruptions, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) said that there should be “order in their hearing room and respect our speakers.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's opening remarks at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing were interrupted by protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Within minutes of speaking, Blinken was interrupted by a man shouting "ceasefire now" and "save the children of… pic.twitter.com/1YFNqF5vhO
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 31, 2023
“All of us are committed to the protection of civilian life. All of us know the suffering that is taking place as we speak. All of us are determined to see it end,” Blinken said.
“But all of us know the imperative of standing up with our allies and partners when their security when their democracies are threatened. That’s what happening now. We stand resolutely with them even as we stand resolutely for the protection of innocent civilians,” he added.
The incident occurred after Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) led a pro-Palestinian protest that resulted in participants forcing their way into the Capitol Complex. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is requesting a censure motion against the representative for her actions.
Greene called the incident an “insurrection” that “caused elevators to be shut down, staircases and hallways to be blocked, exits to be made inaccessible, and official legislative business to be obstructed, putting Members of Congress, their staffs, and Capitol visitors at risk.”
