Washington/London: Hundreds of thousands of people are marching across the world demanding a free and sovereign Palestinian State and urging the far-right Zionist regime in Israel to stop the massacre of Palestinians.
The solidarity marches with Palestinians and protest rallies against Israel started following the brazen bombing of Gaza, reaching its peak over the weekend with the largest rally reported from Paris and London.
France has imposed ban on all rallies in support of the Palestinians and against the Zionists in power in Israel. Despite the ban, thousands of people participated in pro-Palestine rallies and anti-Israeli demonstrations in the French capital, Paris, on October 12 and 13, 2023.
A large number of peace activists gathered at Republique square or Place de la Republique holding Palestinian flags and banners, and shouting slogans against the Zionist regime in Israel.
Despite the Macron government’s order banning pro-Palestine rallies, protesters draped Palestinian flags around their shoulders, and sprayed ‘’Free Palestine’’ on the monument underpinning Republic Plaza in eastern Paris, chanting “We are all Palestinians.’’
The French government has reported 24 arrests for more than 100 “anti-semitic acts” since Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, including verbal abuse, people caught with knives near Jewish schools and synagogues and a drone equipped with a camera spotted over a Jewish cultural center. More than 2,000 cases of “anti-semitic speech” have been reported to an online watchdog force, according to Associated Press.
Pro-Palestinian protests were held Saturday October 14, 2023 across the UK, including in Manchester and London where several thousand people marched from the BBC’s New Broadcasting House to Downing Street to express their solidarity with the Palestinians, and slam killings of civilians, women and children in Israel, Gaza, West Bank and the occupied territories.
At the Palestine Solidarity Campaign demonstration in London, Palestine flags and supportive placards were waved as people chanted during the march to Downing Street, according to BBC.
We cannot be silent or silenced.London, Englandpic.twitter.com/C8AFIZQANQ— Claudia Webbe MP (@ClaudiaWebbe) October 14, 2023
We cannot be silent or silenced.London, Englandpic.twitter.com/C8AFIZQANQ
One protester, Mike, from north-west London, told the PA news agency:
“The injustice of the situation is just totally outstanding.”
Protesters on the route to Westminster could also be heard chanting “Rishi Sunak, shame on you” and the contentious slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
UK Prime Minister Sunak has announced support for Israeli aggression and has also deployed weapons in the conflict zone to support the Zionist regime.
Addressing the gathering in London, former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said British politicians should not condone Israel’s bombing campaign.
Describing the march as a “day of solidarity”, the now-independent MP said:
“If you believe in international law, if you believe in human rights, then you must condemn what is happening now in Gaza by the Israeli army.”
On Saturday, rallies were also held in a number of UK cities, including Liverpool, Bristol, Cambridge, Norwich, Coventry, Edinburgh and Swansea besides London. More rallies are planned in UK on Sunday October 15, 2023.
Anti-Zionist rallies and Palestine Solidarity March were also held in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries in the subcontinent.
Earlier on Friday hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters reached a border zone with the Israeli-occupied West Bank in Jordan and tried to cross-over the border.
Several thousand protesters near downtown Amman chanted slogans in support of Hamas and demanded the government close the Israeli embassy and scrap the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, according to Reuters.
In the cities of Irbid and Zarqa, thousands took to the streets carrying Hamas flags, vowing revenge against Israel and calling on the militant movement, which rules Gaza, to escalate strikes.
Similar rallies were also held in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Indonesia, Kuwait, Philippines, Tunisia, South Africa and Portugal.
Several thousand people also demonstrated in pro-Palestinian rallies in Geneva and Glasgow on Saturday October 14, 2023.
Thousands of protesters Sunday October 15, 2023 gathered in Melbourne and Sydney for pro-Palestinian rallies, after a week of tension between organisers and authorities in New South Wales.
In Melbourne, thousands of people met at the State Library of Victoria in solidarity with Palestinians. Protesters also gathered in Sydney's Hyde Park for a static rally despite being denied official approval by NSW Police, according to ABC News.
Pro-Palestine protests and anti-Israeli demonstrations are also being reported from Tirana and Prishtina in Albania, Vienna in Austria, Brussels in Belgium, Toronto in Canada, Helsinki in Finland, Duisburg and Berlin in Germany, Athens in Greece, Dublin City in Ireland, Milan in Italy, Amsterdam in The Netherlands, Seoul in South Korea, Madrid in Spain, Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey, Caracas in Venezuela, Sana’s in Yemen, and in Washington DC, San Francisco and at the iconic Times Square in New York, Manhattan in the United States.
Pro-Palestine and anti-Zionist rallies in the United States are being led by student organisations where an Israeli billionaire resigned from Harvard board after as many as 30 Harvard student organisations pledged support for Palestine and opposed Israeli Zionist aggression against civilians.
Protest rallies in the United States were also participated by a large number of Jews who urged the Biden administration to stop funding Zionist war. “Jews say: End U.S. support 4 Israeli war crimes”, a banner in a rally said.
Pro-Israelis and Zionist supporters also organised their rallies in some parts. They however were outnumbered by peace activists on streets in different parts of the world demanding creation of a free Palestinian state and ending of Zionist occupation.
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