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Pro-Palestinian protestors on Wednesday lowered an American flag and burned it down a few blocks away from the US Congress and hoisted a Palestine flag in its place.
The incident happened in front of the Union Station, near the US Congress, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress.
The protestors in several hundreds were protesting against the US policy in the Middle East and the bombing of innocent civilians by Israelis in Gaza and parts of Palestine.
Six people were arrested by the local police. Videos posted online showed that the protestors were shouting pro-Hamas and anti-Israeli slogans. They lowered a huge American flag in front of the busy Union Station and burned it down, then they raised the flag of Palestine which was much smaller.
The protests were also held in several parts of the city as Netanyahu addressed the Congress. Many of them were seen shouting slogans against him outside the hotel he stayed in. Several other protestors were seen defacing some of the historic monuments in the city and writing Hamas over the wall and statue.
Barricades were installed around important government buildings and offices in the city, including the White House and the US Congress. Police used pepper spray against the protestors outside the US Capitol.
“US flag set ablaze, 23 arrested as thousands protest Netanyahu's DC visit,” The Washington Post reported.
“Though most demonstrators walked and chanted peacefully, there were some clashes with law enforcement, and DC and Capitol Police said they arrested 15 people in total. The US Park Police arrested eight people,” it said.
The protestors also put ablaze an effigy of Netanyahu, spray-painted the Christopher Columbus fountain and adjacent Liberty Bell reproduction with messages like “Free Gaza,” “All zionists are bastards,” and “Free Palestine.”
Even as the protests against his visit were raging, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday slammed Iran for funding and supporting groups against Israel and asserted that defeating the brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity.
“For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building -- not that many, but they're there -- and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: When the tyrants of Teheran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots,” Netanyahu said.
“It's amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming 'Gays for Gaza'. They might as well hold up signs saying 'Chickens for KFC'. These protesters chant 'From the river to the sea'. But many don't have a clue what river and what sea they're talking about. They not only get an F in geography, they get an F in history. They call Israel a colonialist State. Don't they know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached and where David and Solomon ruled?” he said.
In his fourth address to the joint session of the Congress, the most by any foreign leader, Netanyahu alleged that in the Middle East, Iran is virtually behind all terrorism, turmoil, chaos and killing.
“And that should come as no surprise. When he founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini pledged, “We will export our revolution to the entire world. We will export the Islamic revolution to the entire world.” Now, ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran's maniacal plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: It's America, the guardian of Western civilisation and the world's greatest power. That's why Iran sees America as its greatest enemy,” he said.
Iran, he said, understands that to truly challenge America, it must first conquer the Middle East. And for this it uses its many proxies, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas.
“Yet in the heart of the Middle East, standing in Iran's way, is one proud pro-American democracy -- my country, the State of Israel,” he said.
Asserting that victory is in site, Netanyahu said the day after they defeat Hamas, a new Gaza can emerge.
“My vision for that day is of a demilitarised and deradicalised Gaza. Israel does not seek to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror, to ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel,” he said.
“Gaza should have a civilian administration run by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That's not too much to ask. It's a fundamental thing that we have a right to demand and to receive. A new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate Jews but rather to live in peace with us. Those twin words, demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts were applied to Germany and Japan after World War II, and that led to decades of peace, prosperity and security,” he added.