WASHINGTON: Over 20,000 people from around the United States assembled in front of the White House on Saturday and marched across the streets of Washington in the first national demonstration, opposing the Israeli military invasion of Gaza.

“We are calling for the immediate end of the siege on Gaza and the immediate end to all US aid to Israel,” said Mike Prysner, member of the Answer coalition and one of the rally organizers.

The rally, which started at the Lafayette Park — in front of the White House and in close proximity to the Hay-Adams Hotel where President-elect Barrak Obama is currently residing — passed by the Washington offices of Lockheed Martin, which is a central part of the US military’s industrial complex that manufactures F-16 fighter jets that are used to bomb Gaza. Sentiments in support of Gaza resonated across the streets of Washington; “Not a penny, not a dime, free Palestine,” chanted the multiethnic crowd at the demonstration.

American demonstrators stressed that the violence in Gaza was made possible through the United States funding of Israel, in which $15 million of American taxpayers money is sent to Israel on a daily basis.

“We are really seeing people coming out in a way that they haven’t in the past,” said Prysner, about the numbers of people attending the demonstration. While there have been many protests across the US, some on a daily basis, this was the first national demonstration for Gaza.

The march then moved on to the Caterpillar corporation that manufactures the bulldozers used by the Israeli army to flatten homes in Gaza, all while chanting for Gaza and carrying slogans to end the violence. The rally also passed by the Washington Post’s office, which was criticized by the demonstrators to have a biased and misleading coverage of the situation in Gaza.

Zan Garety from Ithica, New York, said, “We are here because we have the constitutional right to be here and to speak and we need to speak for diversity of all people and human rights for all people.”

“I deplore the US’s blind support for Israel and deplore the fact that it is American bombs and missiles and bullets killing Palestinian women and children,” said Michael Jubran, who is a Palestinian American protesting for an end to the violence. “I think the American people need to be enlightened to the fact that their tax money is going to support a garrison state that is based on racism and prejudice,” he added.

Calls for leaders of the Arab world to take a more active position in this crisis were made by many of the demonstrators. Rawan Mustafa, an Arab American, came to the national demonstration from New Jersy. “I feel that immediate action has to be taken...the Arab nations and the Arab leaders have to come together and stand up for the Palestinians and boycott Israel,” she said in frustration.

On the pavement opposite the park were another, much smaller, group of protesters. Carrying Israeli and American flags, were Americans demonstrating in support of Israel.