ATLANTA: A coalition of US civil rights and community groups held a rally on Tuesday outside the State Department to protest Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, and to press Secretary of State Antony Blinken to pressure Tel Aviv to end its ongoing airstrikes against Gaza and its efforts to evict Palestinians from their homes in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The coalition leadership delivered a petition signed online by more than 200,000 people and organizations demanding that the US government hold Israel accountable for its actions against the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Gaza. “What we’re witnessing in Sheikh Jarrah is Israel’s attempt to erase the Palestinian presence from our native city in real time,” said Mohammed El-Kurd, whose family is among those set to be forcefully evicted in May.