TRANSCRIPT
These are the sounds of a huge rally at the United States Capitol in Washington, right outside of where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint-session of Congress.
Police have used pepper spray on some of the thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters who came to condemn the Israeli leader.
And the protesters did not mince words about the man they came to protest.
"Yeah. He's a war criminal. He should be in jail. And, you know, he could have brought peace a long time ago. He wants the war to continue. He wants to continue the ethnic cleansing in Palestine."
Mr Netanyahu was invited to speak to Congress immediately after International Criminal Court prosecutors announced they were seeking arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and his Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, as well as top Hamas leadership for alleged war crimes.
The International Criminal Court is yet to ratify these warrants, and Mr Netanyahu denies all allegations of war crimes.
But demonstrators say the rally is not just to show their disapproval of Mr Netanyahu but to show their broad condemnation of the U-S government's support of the Israeli assault on Gaza, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians since October the 7th last year.
"I am a Jewish American, my grandparents survived the Holocaust, and growing up I was always told that we should never let anything like the Holocaust happen again. That's why I am here today protesting the genocide of the Palestinian people, and calling on our government to enact an arms embargo of Israel, and send no more weapons to the Israeli military."
A senior U-S official told reporters in June that the U-S had given almost ten billion dollars in weapons and security assistance to Israel since the Hamas-led attack on Israel last October.
Palestinian-American teacher Manal Yaghnam says she wasn’t surprised when she heard that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be visiting Israel's closest ally, and was to be granted an address to Congress.
“I was not at least surprised. And I can't even say anger, because as a Palestinian, I'm so used to the injustice and the oppression and the silencing of the Palestinian people. This is not new.”]]
And in Congress, the Israeli leader struck a familiar chord saying he would not be backing down from what he calls total victory in Gaza, despite U-S negotiators claiming a ceasefire deal could be imminent.
"Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas's military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home. That's what total victory means. And we will settle for nothing less. The day after we defeat Hamas a new Gaza could emerge."
That new, post-war Gaza will not come overnight though, as the U-N estimates it will take 15 years to clear the rubble from Israel's bombing campaign, and the U-N Development Programme says Gaza will need approximately 80 years to restore all its fully destroyed housing.
Khaled [[HAH-led]] Elgindy of the Middle East Institute says Mr Netanyahu's comments were not encouraging for those hoping that Israel may be open to ending hostilities soon.
"I think if people were looking for clarity on a day after vision or even on a cease fire, I think they're going to be disappointed. He did not mention the ceasefire. He was talking more about total victory over Hamas. And so, in that sense, he hasn't really moved much since October 7th. This same speech could have been delivered on October 8th and you'd never know that there was an Israeli ceasefire proposal that was official U-S policy and supported by everyone in the international community.”
More than 60 Democratic party members, plus independent senator Bernie Sanders boycotted Mr Netanyahu's speech, expressing dismay over the mass killing of civilians and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The most notable absence was Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate, claiming a long-scheduled trip kept her from attending.
Benjamin Netanyahu also used his address to condemn pro-Palestinian protesters, saying they were serving as the pawns of Israel's enemies.
"For all we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests that are going on right now outside this building. Well, I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots."
There is no evidence of Iran funding pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the United States.
Just as Netanyahu delivered this quote, U-S Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib [[tah-LEEB]] held up a sign reading "war criminal", then turned it around to show the statement "guilty of genocide" on the back.
Ms Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman elected to Congress, brought a man named Hani Almadhoun with her to Congress, who she says has lost over 150 members of his extended family as a result of Israel's devastating assault.
And, some House Democrats who didn't attend Mr Netanyahu's speech gathered at a side event in Washington calling for a ceasefire and peace.
Democratic Party representative Pramila Jayapal says the United States is deeply linked to the unfolding tragedy in Gaza and must do everything it can to bring that to an end.
"The deep horrors of what is happening on the ground are not external to us, because the United States does remain the largest backer of military assistance to Israel, assistance that has been used to perpetrate these offensive attacks on a civilian population that's been denied even the most basic of humanitarian assistance. This is not a conflict that we Americans have nothing to do with. We have responsibility and leverage to use in ensuring that we foster and forge that permanent path to peace."
