White House beefing up security ahead of pro-Palestine demonstration Saturday

By Gizem Nisa Cebi

ISTANBUL (AA) - The White House is installing added fencing around its premises in anticipation of large pro-Palestinian protests this weekend, in response to US President Joe Biden's handling of Israel's war in Gaza, according to local media.

"In preparation for the events this weekend in Washington D.C. that have the potential for large crowds to gather, additional public safety measures including anti-scale fencing have been put in place near the White House complex," Washington-based daily The Hill on Friday quoted a Secret Service spokesperson as saying.

The protest, scheduled for Saturday, coincides with the eight-month mark of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Organizers have said they plan to encircle the White House, with participants wearing red to symbolize a "red line" Biden was accused of backtracking on after Israel launched a ground operation on Rafah. Over a million Palestinians had sought refuge in the southern Gaza Strip city before it was invaded on May 6.

President Biden will be absent from the White House during the protests since he is currently on an official visit to France.

Activist group CodePink is one of the groups spearheading the "red line" protest.

Biden has faced a wave of protests nationwide regarding his handling of the Gaza conflict, with some demonstrators interrupting his events.

This discontent has also been reflected in the Democratic primaries, where more than half a million voters have voted "uncommitted."

As the weekend approaches, the heightened security measures and growing discontent underscore the challenges facing the administration amid ongoing international and domestic pressure.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 83,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.