US pro-Palestine activists march in Washington against deadly Israeli raids in West Bank

Around 200 pro-Palestinian protesters marched through Washington DC on Friday evening, calling for an end to recent Israeli raids and sieges in the occupied West Bank.

At around 5:30 pm local time on Friday the group, led by the Maryland-based MD 2 Palestine, gathered in front of the Washington Monument and marched through the centre of the US capital.

As they walked through the busy downtown streets carrying flags and banners and chanting, some pedestrians expressed support, while others voiced disapproval.

The purpose of Friday evening's march was to bring attention to ongoing deadly Israeli military raids in the West Bank, which started in March and have killed scores of Palestinians this year.

Palestinian civilians are being killed and injured nearly every day in the Israeli raids, and Israel has imposed sieges on major Palestinian cities as it meets resistance from the local population.

"Today we're demonstrating because there are mass amounts of civil disobedience and protests happening across occupied Palestine," Hena Saloom, an organiser with MD 2 Palestine, told The New Arab. 

"We're here to protest the conditions that Palestinians have been forced to endure, not only for 74 years, but also recently. Israel has heightened its operations to quash Palestinian resistance. Right now, Palestinians are fighting back in mass numbers, and they are refusing to back down," she said.

"I came out today to show solidarity and love. We're here to hold hands and fight this together," Omar Tawfik, an Egyptian who studies at University of Maryland and who regularly attends Palestinian demonstrations, told TNA.

He added, "The more support we can get, especially at the government level, the better. I hope our own politicians wake up and understand what's going on." 

This demonstration comes a day after the American Civil Liberties Union asked the US Supreme Court to review a law against boycotting Israel, which many fear could have wide-ranging free-speech implications.

It also comes as the Montgomery County Council in Maryland will soon be deciding whether or not to make criticism of Israel fall under their official definition of antisemitism.

The vote has been postponed several times, according to news reports. Shraim says there will be a protest in front of the Montgomery County Council building in Rockville at 9 am local time next Tuesday.