The White House is girding for a massive pro-Hamas protest to mark eight months since Israel’s war in Gaza began, putting up barriers and boosting security outside the Executive Mansion Saturday.
Israel’s retaliatory invasion of the enclave began after Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israeli citizens on Oct 7.
Fencing has been erected around the White House compound in anticipation of the demonstrators, who are frequently known to be violent. The fence is a second line of defense after the considerable barrier already surrounding the grounds.
“In preparation for the events this weekend in Washington, DC, that have the potential for large crowds to gather, additional public safety measures including anti-scale fencing have been put in place near the White House complex,” a Secret Service spokesman told The Hill.
The demonstrators plan to surround the White House while wearing red, a reference to the “red line” they say President Biden let Israel blow past during its invasion of Rafah.
“Biden can’t draw the line, but we can. On June 8, we will come together from across the country and surround the White House. Wearing red, and raising our demands high, we will show the world that we are the red line,” Answer Coalition, an activist group taking part in the demonstration, declared on its website.
“We demand an immediate cease-fire, an immediate end to the siege on Gaza, the freedom of all Palestinian prisoners and an end to the occupation of Palestine.”
Pro-Hamas rioters have dogged Biden and pro-Israel Democrats around the country, demanding they call for a cease-fire that would save the terrorist organization from annihilation. National Democrats are preparing for a show of force by far-left Hamas supporters at their August convention in Chicago.
Biden will get a reprieve from the expected unrest outside the White House as he is still in France, where he’s been marking the 80th anniversary celebrations of the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War II.
He will be honored with a state banquet and military parade there on Saturday.