Pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged protests in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, and Istanbul on Saturday to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and condemn Israel’s crimes after it intensified assault against the besieged territory.
In London, television footage showed large crowds holding sit-down protests blocking parts of the city center, before marching to Trafalgar Square.
London protesters held “Freedom for Palestine” placards and chanted “ceasefire now” and “in our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians.”
Police said they had made 11 arrests.
In central Paris, thousands marched to call for a ceasefire with placards reading, “Stop the cycle of violence” and “To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit.”
It was one of the first, big gatherings in support of Palestinians to be allowed in Paris since Israels’ war on Gaza started on October 7.
French authorities had banned some previous pro-Palestinian gatherings due to alleged concerns about public disorder.
“We came here today to show the people of France’s solidarity with the Palestinian people and our support for peace…,” said Antoine Guerreiro, a 30-year old civil servant.
Wahid Barek, a 66-year old retiree, lamented the deaths civilians in Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, calling it “really shameful.”
In Berlin, demonstrators waved Palestinian flags, demanding a ceasefire. One woman marched with her arm in the air, her hand covered in fake blood.
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Istanbul and Ankara, a day before a visit to Turkey by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for talks on Gaza.
In Istanbul’s Sarachane park, protesters held banners saying “Blinken, the accomplice of the massacre, go away from Turkey,” with a picture of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blinken together with a red “X” mark on it.
Footage from Ankara showed protesters gathered near the US embassy, chanting slogans and holding posters, which read,”Israel bombs hospitals, Biden pays for it.”
(Source: Reuters)
