Demonstrations in support of Palestine have taken to the streets in several cities around the world in recent hours, urging Israel to halt hostilities in the Gaza Strip, where the enclave’s population is facing bombardments and a critical shortage of goods.
As the war between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas enters its third week, and on the day a small amount of aid entered Gaza, pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in the rain at Marble Arch, near London’s Hyde Park, before heading to the Gaza Strip marched. area where the main institutions of British power are concentrated.
According to the Associated Press report, participants, waving Palestinian flags, called for an end to the blockade of Gaza and Israeli airstrikes launched after a brutal raid on southern Israel by the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the enclave.
London is with you #Gaza ❤️ pic.twitter.com/JRlgZbBrww
– Layla Maghribi (@layla_maghribi) October 21, 2023
British authorities urged protesters to take into account the pain and fear felt by the Jewish community.
London’s Metropolitan Police says reports of anti-Semitic crimes in October were 13 times higher than last year, while reports of anti-Muslim crimes more than doubled.
Police said there were some episodes of disorder and also reported cases of “hate speech” during the protests, but “the majority of protest activities took place within the law and without incident.”
In Spain, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied a hotel in central Barcelona for about an hour today in protest against the confrontation in the Middle East.
According to local police, quoted by the Efe agency, between 90 and 100 people taking part in the demonstration in favor of Palestine entered the lobby of Hotel Cortés, which organizers say is owned by an Israeli tycoon.
‼️Last minute
Popular movement activists in Barcelona occupy Hotel Cortes, owned by an Israeli magnat, to denounce the genocide in Palestine#AturemElGenocidi#Liberate Palestine pic.twitter.com/AojXJ1RCbi
– Sindicat de Llogateres en Llogaters (@SindicatLloguer) October 21, 2023
The demonstrators, activists of various movements, including trade unions, entered the balconies of the facade, removed the flags of various countries flying there and replaced them with Palestinian flags.
With this action they wanted to denounce the ‘genocide of Palestine’ and the international inaction against Israel’s attacks.
Police emphasized that the protesters left the scene on their own after an hour in the establishment, although it is unknown at this time if any arrests or damage occurred.
In Australia today, thousands of people marched in central Sydney chanting “Shame, shame, Israel” and “Palestine will never die.”
PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTESTS IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
THE PEOPLE ARE WITH PALESTINE pic.twitter.com/UavRWv6DBP
– Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) October 21, 2023
Gaza authorities say more than 4,300 people have been killed in the area since the war began.
More than 1,400 people were in turn killed in Israel, most of whom were civilians killed in the deadly Hamas raid on October 7.
Israel continued to bomb targets in Gaza today, ahead of an expected ground offensive.
A small relief to the humanitarian situation in the enclave came today when twenty trucks carrying humanitarian aid were allowed to enter the territory through the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt, which was closed again.
The war sparked protests across the Arab world and elsewhere on Friday, including in the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at Israeli military checkpoints. Security forces responded by firing tear gas and live ammunition.
Crowds gathered in Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbor, in Iraq, at the country’s border crossing with Jordan, in Jordan itself, in cities and towns across Egypt, in the Turkish capital Ankara, and in Istanbul’s most populous city , and in Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and South Africa.
In New York, hundreds of protesters from Muslim, Jewish and other groups marched to U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand’s office in Manhattan, many of them chanting “ceasefire now.”
Police later arrested dozens of protesters who blocked Third Avenue in front of Gillibrand’s office as they sat in the road.
New York City Supports Palestine! pic.twitter.com/g2FfBv1vUS
-Jackson Hinkle (@jacksonhinkle) October 21, 2023
In Mexico City, dozens of people gathered in front of the Israeli embassy on Friday evening, lighting candles and singing “Free Palestine.”
In contrast, Rome’s Jewish community on Friday signed off on the more than 200 people believed to have been held captive by Hamas, setting up a long Shabbat table for them outside the capital’s main synagogue and empty chairs for each of the hostages.
– Demonstration in Rome in support of the Palestinians.
✊From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free✊#Liberate Palestine pic.twitter.com/VAmIddLnL0
-Baron (@edcordel) October 21, 2023
On the back of each chair was a pamphlet with the name, age and photo of each missing person, and on the table were candles, wine and woven bread normally consumed during the Friday evening meal.
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel on October 7 with the launch of thousands of rockets and the raid of armed militiamen, taking two hundred hostages.
In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, a movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 and has been classified as terrorist by the European Union and the United States. Israel bombed several of the group’s infrastructures in the Gaza Strip and imposed a total siege. the area with an interruption of the supply of water, fuel and electricity.
The Rafah terminal, in southern Gaza and the only border crossing into Egypt, will allow humanitarian aid to reach Palestinian territory.
The conflict has already caused thousands of deaths and injuries in both areas, among military personnel and civilians.
Source: DN
