Iclal Turan
May 22, 2024•Update: May 23, 2024
WASHINGTON
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was interrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on Wednesday as he delivered testimony before a House of Representatives committee on the agency’s budget request.
"Free Palestine to free us all. All liberation struggles are connected," one protestor shouted as Blinken addressed lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee.
"You should be arresting Blinken, not me," the protester yelled as he was removed from the chamber by Capitol Police.
Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart said in response to protestors: "We will not have disturbances in this committee."
Later, Blinken was asked by Democrat Rep. Lois Frankel about whether there are "organized efforts" to fund pro-Palestine protests to create conflict in the US.
Blinken responded that people are motivated by the “plight of little children, women, men in Gaza” and said the humanitarian crisis that they are experiencing is “gut-wrenching.”
“I not only understand it; we're working to do something about it,” he added.
Blinken's testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee was also interrupted by pro-Palestine protestors, with one protestor shouting: “You are a butcher.”
He was later asked what he thinks of Code Pink, a women-led peace group that has participated in pro-Palestine demonstrations, including the protest against Blinken at the US Congress this week.
“I think that they're very passionate people who are expressing deep feelings. I may disagree with their views. I respect the right of people to make known their views. That's what this country is all about,” he said.
He added that the protests should be carried out in a “peaceful way” that “don’t disrupt the ability to have a conversation and engagement.”
Blinken's testimony Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was also repeatedly disrupted by pro-Palestinian protestors, with one shouting: "Blinken, you will be remembered as the butcher of Gaza."
The protests came as Israel's war is into its eighth month amid relentless bombardments that have led to wide-scale devastation and mass displacement throughout Gaza.
Around 35,700 Palestinians have been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since the onslaught began in October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel. Around 1,200 people were killed on Oct. 7 and hundreds were taken to Gaza as hostages.
