Thousands protest Israeli ‘atrocities’ in front of White House

Thousands of protesters, many wrapped in Palestinian flags, rallied outside the White House on Saturday to call for peace and an end to the fighting in Gaza Strip. The crowd, young and old from across the United States, including scores of children on parents’ shoulders, chanted ‘End US Aid to Israel’ and ‘Israel out of Palestine.’ Many wore headscarves or traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarves. ‘Gaza will not die – it will never die,’ said Amar Jamal as he marched through downtown Washington with his family surrounded by a sea of red, black, white and green, the colors of the Palestinians’ flag. ‘All the Middle East will be in trouble’ if the conflict doesn’t end, warned the Palestinian-born 70-year-old. Many of the protesters demanded that the United States ends its military backing of Israel and take its ally to task over a conflict that has already killed more than 1,800 Palestinians and 67 Israelis, all but three of them soldiers, report agencies.