Politics

Anti-Israel protesters swarm Biden’s hotel over his Gaza policy, threaten to withhold votes

President Biden was met with a few dozen anti-Israel protesters standing outside his hotel in Dallas, Texas, Thursday morning, threatening to withhold their votes if he doesn’t change his administration’s policies toward the Gaza Strip.

The protesters held signs calling for a cease-fire between Israel and the terror group Hamas — which controls the 3-mile-wide Palestinian territory of Gaza — amid humanitarian concerns over Israel’s planned ground invasion of Rafah.

They also held signs saying, “In November, we will remember,” alluding to the protest movement threatening to not vote for Biden in 2024.

“If we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no sleep,” the protesters were heard yelling while waving Palestinian flags and banging on pots.

Early morning protesters holding Palestinian flags and banging on pots chant, “If we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no sleep” and “Free, free Palestine” across the street from the hotel where President Biden is staying. AP
One man waves a Palestinian flag and yells across the street from Biden’s hotel. AP

Biden, 81, has been bombarded with anti-Israel protests for months, with signs sometimes bearing the phrase “Genocide Joe.”

Dozens of people showed up and sat on Pennsylvania Avenue in an attempt to block the president from reaching Congress to deliver his State of the Union address earlier in March, and other groups have followed Biden around the country, disrupting his speeches and marching around hotel lobbies.

Police walk into the hotel where Biden was staying in Dallas as protesters yell behind them. AP
Protesters followed members of the White House press corps in the hotel where Biden was staying in San Francisco. REUTERS

The anti-Biden administration sentiment on Gaza is largely coming from Democrats, and protest groups around the country have also called on voters to send a message in the primary election by choosing “uncommitted” on the ballot instead of voting for Biden.

The president suffered high numbers of “uncommitted” primary voters in states like Michigan and Minnesota.

Protesters previously tried to block Biden from his SOTU address. AP
Biden has maintained Israel has a right to defend itself. AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration has maintained Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas after the terror group launched a massive attack on Oct. 7, killing over 1,160 people.

While maintaining support for Israel, the White House has also questioned how Israel will be able to launch an invasion of Rafah, a city on the southern border of Gaza, without causing mass civilian casualties.