Pro-Palestinian Jews Protest on Capitol Hill

Pro-Palestinian Jewish demonstrators staged a protest inside Capitol Hill's cannon building rotunda, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address at joint meeting of Congress.

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to meet Netanyahu at the White House, a U.S. official said.

Biden has been battling COVID-19 since last Wednesday but returned to Washington from his beach house in Delaware. Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress.

More than 250 Jewish people filled the Cannon Rotunda on Capitol Hill, chanting in a unified voice for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to address Congress.

Organized by Jewish Voice for Peace, protesters wearing red T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name” took over the building’s rotunda, sitting on the floor, unfurling signs and chanting “Let Gaza Live!”

The demonstrators focused much of their ire on the Biden administration, demanding that the president immediately cease all arms shipments to Israel.

Ahead of the protest, organizers said they knew they would risk arrest. Around 200 people were arrested, officials said.

Rabbis, Israeli-Americans and descendants of Holocaust survivors were among the protesters on Capitol Hill calling on U.S. political leaders to stop their military aid of Israel, as the war on Gaza continues to claim the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Biden and Netanyahu are expected to discuss ways to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, as well as Iran and other topics.

It will be Biden's first meeting with a foreign leader since he opted not to run for reelection and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor as the Democratic presidential nominee. Also Netanyahu is expected to meet with former U.S. President Donald Trump.