PARIS:
Thousands of protesters rallied across France and Britain on Saturday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, while hundreds more turned out again in cities across Europe.
Protests have been held across Europe since Hamas’ unprecedented attacks on Israel on October 7 that triggered the latest war in Gaza.
Several thousand people marched through central Paris in pouring rain behind a banner reading “Stop the slaughter in Gaza and the West Bank, immediate ceasefire.”
“France must immediately call for a ceasefire so that the guns are silenced,” said CGT union general secretary Sophie Binet, one of several union leaders who spoke at the rally.
The CGT estimated that 60,000 people gathered in the capital and another 40,000 gathered in dozens of other cities across the country.
In Marseille, AFP saw several hundred people observe a minute’s silence for the Palestinian victims of the war, while in Toulouse more than 1,200 people marched, according to police.
Israel says Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 239 hostages when they stormed across the border on October 7.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says some 12,300 people have died in the Palestinian territory due to Israel’s relentless military response, more than 5,000 of them children.
Elsewhere in Europe, organizers said around 4,000 people marched in Geneva, lighting candles displayed as a map of Gaza in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations.
A large banner read “Stop the genocide in Gaza” and many chanted “Free, free Palestine!”. In English.
Two demonstrations were held in Amsterdam, one calling for a Gaza ceasefire, another demanding the release of hostages held by Hamas, although police said the demonstrations were peaceful and no arrests were made.
Several thousand marched in Lisbon, many also chanting in English “Palestine will be free”.
“I think the injustice towards Palestine, in the last 75 years, is incredibly serious,” said 64-year-old Maria Joao Ralha.
A few hundred people marched in Warsaw, with the protest culminating in a rally in front of the Israeli embassy in Poland.
In Istanbul, where mass protests have taken place as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to Israel’s campaign, around 100 people lit flares and held anti-war banners in heavy rain outside the Israeli consulate.
The rally was called by soccer fan groups, which often play a prominent role in Turkish protests.
All Israeli diplomatic staff left Turkey last month as a security precaution.
In Britain, the number of protests was smaller after more than 300,000 people staged a pro-Palestinian march in London last Saturday.
One targeted an office where the leader of the main opposition Labor Party, Keir Starmer, holds meetings, with protesters waving Palestinian flags and chanting “Cease fire now”.
Some held placards reading “Stop the war on Gaza” and “Starmer — blood on your hands” amid a heavy police presence in Camden, north London.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer whose party is tipped to win elections expected next year, has refused to call for a permanent ceasefire, prompting a series of resignations from his top team. Instead, he has called for a humanitarian pause in Israel’s bombing to allow aid for the 2.4 million people in Gaza.
A protester at the event in London, Nicoletta, 36, held a placard reading “Bombing hospitals is a crime”.
“Because I’m a health care provider, I’m here to defend the hospitals, the innocent citizens, the children in the incubators,” he said.
The rally was one of several smaller protests organized nationwide by the Stop The War Coalition.
London police announced on Saturday that they had made 386 arrests since the October 7 attacks.
Showing support for Hamas is an offense in Britain, as the organization is considered a terrorist group.
a href=”https://tribune.com.pk/story/2447173/pro-palestinian-demonstrators-rally-across-europe”>Source link
