UPDATE - Pro-Palestine demonstrators arrested at Capitol Hill protest against Gaza violence

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By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Scores of pro-Palestine demonstrators were placed under arrest Wednesday after taking part in an unauthorized demonstration in the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill.

Organizers said over 500 people were taken into custody.

Earlier in the day, thousands of people organized by the Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and IfNotNow advocacy groups came to the National Mall to demand an immediate halt to the ongoing violence in Gaza in order to stop what many said is an ongoing “genocide” against the Palestinian people.

Demonstrators chanted "Cease-fire now" and "Free, free Palestine" as some donned shirts saying "Jews Say Cease-fire Now" and others carried banners reading "Not in my name" and "End the siege of Gaza."

Adam Golfer, a New York City-based filmmaker who has spent time in the occupied West Bank, told Anadolu that he believed it was important for him to add his voice to the chorus demanding a cease-fire because he fears the current violence could quickly descend into "a chain reaction of things that continue to get worse and worse for regular civilians in Gaza who already have it extremely difficult in their everyday lives and are struggling to just survive."

Rabbi Linda Holtzman, who serves on JVP's Rabbinical Council, said: "As a rabbi, and as a Jew, I can't sit back and see a genocide happening without standing up and demanding a cease-fire because I can't see people being murdered and money being given from my government to enforce that murder without standing up and saying 'stop.'"

"I hope that people open their eyes and see that this is genocide. People are being denied power, are being denied food, are being denied water. There are children who are being bombed who have no medication for first aid. It's horrific," she added.

Following the arrests at the Capitol, hundreds of other demonstrators shut down Independence Avenue in front of the Cannon building’s main entrance.

Capitol Police reported that among the arrests, three individuals have been charged with assaulting a police officer during processing.

A smaller group of demonstrators later went to the Israeli embassy, where they waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and shouted chants, including some in Arabic.

Addressing demonstrators on the National Mall, Representative Rashida Tlaib, the US Congress's sole Palestinian American lawmaker, said she wished the Palestinian people could see the throngs of people who came out to demand a cease-fire.

"They didn't ask to be born in occupation, and so I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart," Tlaib told the protesters in emotional remarks. "The dehumanization has chipped at my soul, and I can't imagine what it's made so many other people feel."

Gaza is in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis with no electricity, while water, food, fuel and medical supplies are running out.

Israel previously ordered a "full siege" on Gaza in retaliation for the initiation by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.

Hamas said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque and increased settler violence against Palestinians.

Over 1,400 Israelis have been killed since the start of the operation.

At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Tali Ruskin, a JVP activist, said it was important for her to help organize Wednesday's protest because "we're out here as American Jews and allies from literally across the country, coming here to say that we want the Israeli genocide against Palestinians to stop.”

"We're saying 'this cannot happen in our name.' This is a never again situation, never again for anyone," added Ruskin.