Palestinian, migrant rights protesters arrested after cease-fire die-in at US Congress

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Roughly one dozen pro-Palestinian and migrant rights demonstrators demanding an immediate cease-fire in the war-torn Gaza Strip staged a die-in at a US congressional office building before they were quickly arrested Thursday.

It was part of a larger coalition of roughly 100 demonstrators that had gathered at Union Station, Washington, D.C.'s main train station, before marching to the nearby Capitol.

"Everywhere we go people want to know who we are, so we tell them, we are immigrants, the mighty, mighty immigrants, fighting for justice and our liberation," they chanted during the roughly 1.4-mile (2.2 kilometer) walk. "What do we want? Cease-fire. When do we want it? Now. And if we don't get it? Shut it down."

After reaching the Cannon House Office Building, protesters gathered in the rotunda with minimal interactions from police. The demonstrators were ordered to refrain from blocking walkways, holding up signs or chanting inside the building. Nearly all obeyed.

A smaller group of 13 protesters entered the middle of the rotunda where they laid on the floor in faux dead poses, encircling a banner that read, "Ceasefire now: Permanent protections for all immigrants." They were arrested by police without incident as the rest were ordered to depart the building.

Since a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, the Israeli offensive into Gaza has killed more than 28,600 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and to take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.