Pro-Palestinian activists supported by a New York-based charity unleashed a horde of maggots and other insects inside the Watergate Hotel, where Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is staying during his trip to the United States, on Tuesday evening.
Agitators affiliated with the Palestinian Youth Movement, which organized the protest, set maggots loose and set off fire alarms in the hotel throughout the evening "to ensure that there will be no rest" for Netanyahu and his delegation ahead of his address before Congress on Wednesday afternoon. The group posted footage of their handiwork on Instagram, with a video showing vermin crawling on a hotel table in front of a pair of U.S. and Israeli flags and saying: "BON APPETIT!! MAGGOTS RELEASED ON THE CRIMINAL ZIONIST’S WAR TABLE!"
"Palestine protesters manufactured chaos at the Watergate Hotel last night so that Netanyahu, Israeli Mossad agents, and the Secret Service had no peace as they continue to terrorize our people," the group wrote. "There will be no peace, there will be no rest, until the war criminal’s arrest."
A spokeswoman for the Watergate Hotel confirmed protesters unleashed insects inside the property on Tuesday evening.
"We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal," the Watergate spokeswoman told the Washington Free Beacon. "We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time."
The Secret Service, which is currently under bipartisan scrutiny for the multiple security lapses that resulted in the shooting of former president Donald Trump, told the Free Beacon that they did not stop the group from entering the hotel’s premises.
"The Watergate facility has an expansive footprint and remains open for businesses, residences, and guests," Secret Service spokesman Abel Trevino said. "At no time was there any threat to our protectees."
The Secret Service said the conference room, which contained a pair of U.S. and Israeli flags, was not a part of the service's "security plan with Israeli security services and our local partners."
The Palestinian Youth Movement is a fiscally sponsored project of the Westchester Peace Action Committee Foundation (WESPAC), a charity located in White Plains, N.Y. What that means in practice is that there is no legal distinction between the two groups. All tax-deductible donations to the Palestinian Youth Movement are accepted by WESPAC, which controls the finances of the former.
WESPAC has played a critical role fomenting pro-Hamas demonstrations across the country following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. WESPAC sponsors several anti-Israel groups including National Students for Justice in Palestine, a group being sued by victims of the Oct. 7 attack for serving "as collaborators and propagandists for Hamas."
WESPAC and its offshoots rarely shy away from utilizing illegal tactics in their pro-Hamas protests, such as blocking roads, occupying bridges, or in the case of Tuesday’s protest, unleashing insects on private property. Those tactics have led members of Congress to call on the IRS to revoke its tax-exempt status, citing the agency’s statutes that explicitly bar any organization from engaging in illegal activity.
The Palestinian Youth Movement organized its Watergate Hotel actions in a Telegram chat channel rife with anti-Semitic imagery. The channel, called the "Satanyahu Unwelcoming Committee," boasts over 2,200 subscribers and features a profile image of Netanyahu with a pair of devil horns photoshopped on his forehead.
"Join us in ensuring the [sic] zionists have a sleepless night," the group posted in the Telegram channel on Tuesday morning. "No rest for genocidal maniacs while they implement crimes against humanity against our people and occupy and colonize our land."
Palestinian Youth Movement agitators also poured red dye in at least one fountain outside the Watergate Hotel on Tuesday evening, according to photos and videos posted to the Telegram channel.
"BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS," the group wrote in the channel. "This entire imperial Zionist core is responsible for the death of thousands of Palestinian souls. The people of DC and the US refuse to allow these corrupt politicians to continue their genocidal legacy without marking them with the true color of their actions: blood red."
The post On Secret Service's Watch, Palestinian Activists Release Maggots Into Bibi's Hotel appeared first on .
