Chicago protesters demand end to US support for Israel

Pro-Palestinian protesters are gathering Thursday, the final day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, to demand an end to US support for Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

As delegates were gathering for the convention, where Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the Democratic nomination for the presidency, tens of thousands of people have expressed support for Palestine since the beginning of the convention on Monday.

“The central issue for our protest, the central issue for this week of the DNC, the central issue in the world today is Palestine and how we need to stop US aid to Israel,” Hatem Abudayyeh, the spokesperson for the Coalition and US Palestinian Community Network, one of the organizers of the mass marches, said at a news conference.

Stressing that tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets this week, Abudayyeh said he hoped that several thousands more will be at the protest on Thursday.

Their main demands from US President Joe Biden and Harris and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and "all of the top Democrats that are here is stop all US aid to Israel, stop the genocide and stand with and free Palestine,” he added.

‘There is no safe zone in Gaza’

Chicago-based Dr. Tammy Abughnaim said she has been to Gaza twice in the last six months and got back three days ago.

“In my time in the Gaza Strip, every single day, we would see evidence of deliberate targeting of civilians…There is no safe zone in Gaza. Israel has made sure of that,” she said.

It has been “clear” for the last 10 months that Israel has been using US-made weapons to target civilians, she stressed.

“I am an American citizen, and I therefore feel empowered to demand that my government stop supplying Israel with the weapons it is using to kill Palestinians in Gaza. It is beyond disappointing to me that this administration continues its policy of providing unconditional support, even in light of ICJ (International Court of Justice) findings of plausible genocide.

“I am trained to save lives. I could not do my job in Gaza because the United States continues supplying the weapons that are killing my patients, killing health care workers and destroying the infrastructure that would enable us to save their lives. We have a right to demand an end to genocide,” she added.

Chicago has seen protests since earlier in the week, including one demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate, where dozens of people, including journalists, were arrested by the police.
Chicago police said Thursday that they are “ready” for the final day of protests.

Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said the protest Wednesday night ended without arrests and that no one was injured, according to local media.

“Did we have a couple dustups? Sure, but those things were quickly rectified,” Snelling was quoted as saying.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,200 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 93,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Diyar Guldogan from Washington, D.C. contributed to this report