A group of military veterans in the United States has been arrested over protesting against Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
Members of About Face, a group representing US veterans with anti-war sentiments, conducted a visit to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s office in the Capitol in Washington, DC this week.
According to a post by the group on X, formerly known as Twitter, the protesters demand an end to the siege on Gaza and call for a ceasefire in the besieged territory.
Despite their efforts, the group reported that Gillibrand, as a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, refused to meet them, prompting the intervention of law enforcement.
“She refused to meet with us. Capitol police were called. We aren’t going anywhere until she meets with us,” the group said.
Subsequently, a video circulating online captured the veterans’ arrest outside the Russell Office Building following their sit-in at her office.
The demonstration and arrests came following the group’s collaboration with Representatives Cori Bush, Summer Lee, Rashida Tlaib, and Delia Ramirez earlier in the day. Together, they criticized the four-hour “pauses” in Israel’s bombardment of northern Gaza, asserting that these brief breaks were not enough to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza and prevent further atrocities.
The protest, which took place just days before Veterans Day, is part of a broader movement in Washington to urge lawmakers to take action regarding the ongoing Israeli genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The group blasted lawmakers for not supporting a ceasefire, saying those who resist a ceasefire “know nothing about war.”
Israel waged war on Gaza on October 7. The regime has killed at least 11,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured about 27,500 others so far.
It has also imposed a “complete siege” on the coastal sliver, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
