The countries of the developed world are working to curb pro-Palestinian protests due to concern that the conflict between Israel and Hamas will lead to the outbreak of violence on their lands. France banned such protests for fear that they would disrupt public order.
Thousands protest in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide
Thousands of Australians participated in pro-Palestinian marches on Sunday, despite police threats to prevent them, amid tensions following the sudden incursion of Hamas into Israel 8 days ago.
Protesters waved Palestinian flags and chanted, “Freedom, liberate Palestine,” while hundreds of police officers roamed the area surrounding one of the largest marches in Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, the most populous state.
A police helicopter flew low above the crowd gathered in the city’s Hyde Park. The Palestinian Action Movement organizing the event said that about 5,000 people participated, while a Reuters witness estimated the crowd at about 2,000 people.
Amal Nasser, the movement’s spokeswoman, said that the march “went on peacefully,” adding that the police did not use special powers to arrest and search protesters, a step that the police considered implementing for the first time in nearly two decades.
Aya, a Palestinian living in Sydney, said she participated to be “peaceful and to support my country, and to have nothing to do with burning flags.”
Another protester named Mustafa, whose father left Gaza in 1976, said that he came to participate with his three sons.
He said, “We are not against the Jews. They have been in Palestine for a long time, side by side with Muslims and Christians. We are all Palestinians. We are against Zionism.”
Organizers said they intend to hold a march in central Sydney early next week.
The Guardian Australia news website reported that thousands also participated in pro-Palestinian marches in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria.
An official with the Executive Council of Australian Jews denounced the marches “just days after” the attack on Israel.
Alex Revchin, the council’s assistant chief executive, said some protesters were “chanting euphemisms for the destruction of Israel.”
Thousands protest in front of the White House
In Washington, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered on Saturday and protested in front of the White House, chanting, “Liberate Palestine,” while the death toll from the war between Israel and Hamas continues to rise.
Demonstrator Linda Houghton told AFP, “What is happening today goes beyond the limits. It is deplorable. We are watching people being killed by an army that this country supports.”
Americans across the country organized pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests after the unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Israel cut off food, water and electricity supplies to the 2.4 million residents of Gaza, while launching intense and violent attacks on the Gaza Strip, while the Israeli army called on the residents of northern Gaza to move south.
Ahmed Abed, one of the demonstrators who marched in downtown Washington in the shadow of Palestinian flags, said, “I wish we could do something. I wish we could stop the war,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Speaking about the besieged Gaza Strip, he added, “They are in prison.”
Among the banners carried by the demonstrators were written: “Stop the occupation” and “Stop shooting now.”
Jews against the extermination of Palestinians
In New York, the stronghold of the largest Jewish population outside Israel, hundreds gathered in Brooklyn on Friday to express their dissatisfaction with the Israeli attack, raising a banner reading: “Jews say: Stop the genocide against the Palestinians.”
Jews in New York are divided, with some voices urging Israel to defend itself, while others warn of “genocide” against the Palestinians.
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