A demonstrator confronts police forces in front of Biden's meeting with the United Auto Workers in Warren, Michigan (French)
US President Joe Biden visited the state of Michigan, which is an electoral battleground, amid protests against his support for the Israeli war on Gaza, as his campaign did not announce the details of the visit until the last moments to avoid the protesters.
Biden's visit to the state - Thursday - came as a celebration of the decision of the United Auto Workers Union to support his efforts to win a new presidential term, but the visit was met with protests among the Arab Americans who form a voting bloc in the state, as they demanded that he work on a ceasefire in Gaza and refused to meet. His election campaign.
Local authorities closed the roads leading to the UAW headquarters, but Reuters reported that about 100 demonstrators marched toward the headquarters - before Biden met with union leaders - waving the Palestinian flag and chanting slogans saying, “The atmosphere that supports genocide must go.”
Biden's campaign kept secret the details of his visit to avoid protests (French)
Before heading to Michigan, Biden said - in a speech during a meeting in Washington - that he is working to resolve the conflict based on the two-state solution and the return of Israeli detainees in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the American capital witnessed a protest to demand an end to the war on Gaza, during which traffic stopped on major roads linking Washington to the state of Virginia, and others close to the Congress building and government buildings.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial near the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others gathered at the central train station and near the Congress building, demanding a ceasefire and an end to the genocide. They also chanted slogans calling on the Biden administration to stop its support for Israel.
Since the start of the war on Gaza last October, Biden has refrained from calling on Israel to cease fire, and his administration continues to supply it with thousands of tons of weapons via air bridge, which is causing widespread anger among Muslims and Arab Americans.
Al Jazeera Net spoke - weeks after the war - with a number of Arab voters who unanimously agreed not to vote for Biden in the 2024 presidential elections, and half of them expressed their intention to vote for the Republican candidate, while the rest revealed their intention not to vote for Biden and to invalidate their votes instead of voting for the Republican candidate.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies