Washington, DC – As President Donald Trump called for ethnically cleansing Gaza and for the United States to “own” the territory, hundreds of protesters outside the White House warned him that “Palestine is not for sale”.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Washington, DC, on Tuesday evening to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House and call on the Trump administration to stop supplying weapons to Israel.

The protesters chanted, “Free Palestine” and denounced Israeli atrocities amid a heavy security presence.

Michael Schirtzer, an activist at the protest, said Americans do not want their tax money used to kill Palestinians.

Schirtzer dismissed Trump’s call for ethnically cleansing Gaza as an “insane” position.

“The people of Palestine will be going nowhere. They are the Indigenous people of that land,” he told Al Jazeera. “It is a coloniser mentality to say that you’re going to displace people.”

Trump had said earlier that Palestinians “would love” to leave Gaza if given a chance, reiterating his call for displacing the entire population of the territory “permanently”.

The US president has faced backlash from Arab states and rights groups for his proposed plan, which critics say would amount to ethnic cleansing.

But Trump doubled down on his remarks during a news conference with Netanyahu later on Tuesday, saying that the US would “take over Gaza” after it is depopulated and “own it”.

‘Architect of a literal genocide’

At the White House protest, Sofia Ahmad, a 24-year-old Iranian American demonstrator, struggled to find the words to describe Trump’s call for mass displacement in Gaza.

“The fact that he is the president is disgusting,” Ahmad told Al Jazeera.

“He’s a fascist, a psychopath, a narcissist. But it’s still important to show up here.”

She underscored that Netanyahu is a fugitive from justice who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for suspected war crimes in Gaza, including using starvation as a weapon of war.

“DC is full of war criminals, but the worst of the worst is here – a man who is the architect of a literal genocide,” Ahmad said.

Israel’s US-backed offensive in Gaza has killed nearly 62,000 Palestinians, which includes thousands of missing people who are presumed dead, since October 2023.

Leading human rights groups and United Nations experts have accused Israel of carrying out a genocide against Palestinians – an effort to destroy them as a people.

Mohammad Qasim, an organiser with the Palestinian Youth Movement, said protesters are outraged that Netanyahu, “the war criminal”, has been invited to Washington, DC.

“We’re here in the streets to protest to make it clear that he’s not welcome in our city,” Qasim said.

He added that “there is no way” Trump can succeed in forcing Palestinians out of Gaza.

“We’ve seen the resolve and the steadfastness and the love of the land that the Palestinian people of Gaza have demonstrated over the last 15 to 16 months,” he said. “If Donald Trump thinks that our people will capitulate and leave their land, he is sorely mistaken.”

Protesters projected a “wanted” poster with Netanyahu’s face on a hotel overlooking the White House.

They also waved Palestinian flags and held signs denouncing US support for Israel.

“Pay for housing, not genocide,” one poster read.

A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty stood in the middle of the crowd as activists depicting Israeli officers were shackling and dragging her.

‘Golden opportunity’

Earlier in the day, Palestinian rights advocates held a news conference in the same spot as the protest to denounce Netanyahu’s visit.

Osama Abuirshaid, executive director of American Muslims for Palestine, said Trump should not allow Netanyahu to manipulate him and called on the US president to change the dynamics of the US-Israel relationship.

Abuirshaid said that former US President Joe Biden let Netanyahu disrespect him and show him “the middle finger”.

“Trump has this golden opportunity to show the world who the boss is, and that he’s ushering in a new era,” Abuirshaid told reporters.

“It doesn’t mean that we agree with everything, with all of his policies, but we agree with one thing – America should be respected again,” he said.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the antiwar group Code Pink, also said that Trump had an “incredible opportunity” to pursue peace in the Middle East.

“Will he go the road of the warmongers or will he listen to the voice of the people in the United States that have said for months now, not only did we want to ceasefire, but we want to stop sending weapons to Israel,” Benjamin said.

She added that Netanyahu should face justice for atrocities against Palestinians, not be invited to the White House.

“Netanyahu does not belong on the streets of Washington, DC. He belongs in The Hague,” Benjamin said.

Pushing to appeal to Trump

Some speakers at the news conference struck a more conciliatory tone, appealing to Trump’s pledge to bring peace to the Middle East and pursue an “America First” agenda.

The advocates argued that prioritising US interests would dictate saying “no” to Netanyahu’s demands for more weapons and support for Israel.

Trump has taken credit for brokering the fragile Gaza ceasefire, which brought much needed-relief and surged humanitarian assistance to the population in the devastated territory.

When asked about the apparent conciliatory tone, Nihad Awad – the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) – said it does not represent a change in stance.

He noted that his group is in “total disagreement” with Trump over some policies, including the president’s anti-immigration push.

“But it doesn’t mean that he’s just an enemy of us and the people,” Awad said.

“We believe that the office he’s holding is so powerful, and he has important opportunities to bring peace to the region, peace that is based on justice and liberty and dignity and respect for all. So this is our appeal to him — because he can do it, and he promised to do it.”

Hours later, Awad released a statement denouncing Trump’s call for displacing Palestinians in Gaza.

“Gaza belongs to the Palestinian people, not the United States, and President Trump’s call to displace Palestinians from their land either temporarily or permanently is an absolute non-starter,” he said.

“Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the entire Muslim world have made it clear that this delusional idea is unacceptable.”