Activists protested on Sunday outside the visiting Israeli premier’s residence chanting “war criminal” (Photo by Mohamed Mahmoud)
A group of activists gathered on Sunday outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s temporary residence in Washington, D.C., ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu, who arrived from Budapest following a state visit to Hungary, is expected to hold talks with Trump on Monday covering a range of issues, including the US president’s new global tariff policy, Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza, and escalating tensions with Iran.
His visit came earlier than anticipated. Netanyahu was initially expected to travel to the US later this month, and sources told local media the Monday arrival had “surprised” both Israeli and Trump administration officials.
Outside his residence, protesters waved Palestinian flags and held up screens showing harrowing footage of children burned alive in Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Demonstrators chanted slogans such as “Netanyahu is a war criminal”, “Free the prisoners”, “Palestine is not for sale”, “Netanyahu belongs in prison”, and “Netanyahu, you committed genocide”.
The protest lasted for several hours, with more demonstrations expected on Monday ahead of a scheduled meeting and press conference between Netanyahu and Trump.
Activists also condemned the US government for its continued military and political support for Israel, despite the enormous civilian death toll and destruction in Gaza.
Since October 2023, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza health officials, with widespread displacement across the enclave. The death toll does not include those missing and presumed dead under the rubble.
Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, are both subject to arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Gaza war.
Hungary, which hosted Netanyahu last week, announced its withdrawal from the ICC during his visit – widely seen as a move to avoid any obligation to arrest the Israeli leader.
In a report by Haaretz, Netanyahu’s flight from Budapest to Washington was said to have taken a longer route to avoid the airspace of countries likely to enforce the ICC warrant in the event of an emergency landing.
