As Secretary of State Antony Blinken began testifying before a Senate committee on Tuesday, pro-Palestinian protesters repeatedly interrupted him and called him a “war criminal.”
“He has the blood of 40,000 Palestinians on his hands,” one woman shouted, rushing to the witness stand where Blinken was sitting, before police ushered her out of the room.
The questioning began as soon as Blinken entered the hearing room Tuesday morning. Demonstrators – some of whom had their hands painted red – quietly stood up and called him a “war criminal” and “genocide secretary.”
Moments later, as Blinken began delivering his opening remarks, the group stepped up its strategy.
“Blinken, you will be remembered as the butcher of Gaza,” Palestinian American Muslim Development Director Mohamad Habehh shouted at the secretary while holding a Palestinian flag, causing the hearing to be temporarily halted.
As Mr. Habach yelled, multiple Capitol police officers forcibly removed him from the room. Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girlIt said the United States and Blinken were responsible for her death and the deaths of thousands of other civilians in Gaza.
Blinken has been in charge of U.S.-Israel relations since the war began as the Gaza war continues, often attracting pro-Palestinian protesters during his public appearances and Encampments even appeared outside his home in Northern Virginia The walls were covered with Palestinian flags and handmade signs expressing anger at the face of President Joe Biden’s conflicting policies.
On Capitol Hill on Tuesday, he did not respond to protesters, who were largely ignored by committee members and continued to ask questions about department budgets and Blinken’s national security and foreign relations priorities.
A similar scene played out in October, when Blinken asked senators on Capitol Hill for billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid to Israel. Protesters disrupted the hearing by chanting slogans, accusing the United States of supporting genocide and holding signs calling for a ceasefire.
Protesters stopped short of calling for a ceasefire on Tuesday, and the attacks became more personal. Some of the demonstrators, some from the anti-war group CODEPINK, held signs and wore T-shirts with the words “Bloody Blinken” on them.
Blinken’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee comes as Democrats remain divided over the administration’s Israel policy.
Earlier this month, Biden moved to block weapons shipments to Israel and said he would suspend similar deliveries if Israel launched a large-scale offensive military operation in Rafah, where millions of Palestinians have relocated to flee violence in other parts of Gaza.
