US President Joe Biden has said that pro-Palestinian protesters who interrupted him mid-speech on Tuesday “have a point”.
Two demonstrators were removed from an event in Raleigh, North Carolina on Tuesday after they cut off the president during a speech on healthcare, shouting: “What about the healthcare in Gaza?”
“Everybody deserves healthcare,” Mr Biden said, as the protesters yelled that hospitals in Gaza were being bombed and alleged that Mr Biden was “complicit in genocide”.
The president asked the audience to “be patient with them”.
“They have a point,” he said after the protesters were escorted out.
“We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.”
The audience then cheered and gave the president a standing ovation.
Joe Biden in Raleigh, North Carolina today. Pic: Reuters
Mr Biden has faced several anti-war protests since Israel launched their military campaign after the 7 October attack.
The latest protest comes as US relations with Israel have become tense – with Mr Biden increasing political pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza.
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The US has also ramped up criticism of the Israeli government’s approach to the war, and warned Mr Netanyahu of a planned ground invasion of Rafah – the southern Gaza city where more than one million Palestinians have sought refuge from Israel’s military campaign.
Tuesday’s protest also comes just one day after the US abstained from a vote at the UN Security Council – allowing the resolution demanding a ceasefire until the end of Ramadan to pass.
Mr Biden’s speech on Tuesday centred around his administration’s work to preserve and expand healthcare on the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act being signed into law.
