Demonstrators around the world rallied on New Year’s Eve in solidarity with the Palestinian people calling an end to Israel’s war on Gaza as Palestinians start 2024 sheltering from the regime’s shelling in the besieged territory.
In Boston, thousands gathered on New Year’s Eve for the pro-Palestinian march at Boston’s City Hall with many calling the rally marking the end of a dark year.
Demonstrators were holding Palestinian flags and chanting “Stop the genocide” and “No celebration under occupation” as fireworks exploded overhead.
“The world is celebrating 2024, and Gaza, after 87 days, and the bombing did not even stop. So it’s a genocide that keeps going and going. The whole world is silent. And this is a shame, the US is supposed to stop the war. The US is supplying the Zionists with more weapons. The war is a shame,” Ahmad Dawash, a resident from Cambridge told AFP during the march.
Another protester, Ann Lucas, 45, a resident from Norwood, also said that the demonstrations indicate that Americans will not stop asking for a ceasefire in 2024.
“I think it’s really important for our elected people to know that we are not letting go of this in 2024, this is only going to get stronger. The majority of Americans want a ceasefire. And we’re not going to stop interrupting life until we get it, no celebration when genocide is going on,” Lucas said.
Elsewhere across the globe, pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in the German capital Berlin to condemn the Israeli onslaught on Gaza, nearing its third month.
Police said on Sunday that around 2,000 people gathered at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin’s Neukölln district.
Palestinian flags could also be seen at the demonstration under the slogan “No New Year’s Eve – Solidarity with Palestine.”
The rally came despite an earlier call from the Police on Saturday which banned the planned pro-Palestine march on New Year’s Eve in the German capital.
Pro-Palestine demonstrators also rallied in Malmo, Sweden, demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza.
Demonstrators also waved Palestinian flags in rallies in Helsinki, Finland on New Year’s Eve.
On Monday, in Turkey, pro-Palestine protesters staged a rally at Istanbul’s Galata Bridge in support of Palestinians in Gaza.
Ibrahim Besinci, president of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TUGVA) which is one of the organizers, earlier told an Istanbul news conference that the event was about being “Palestine’s voice” in a “struggle for humanity and justice”.
As the death toll keeps rising across the Palestinian territory due to Israel’s relentless attacks, activists launched a global campaign and asked people to turn the New Year’s countdown in their countries into a countdown for a ceasefire.
Countdown2Ceasefire called for global countdown events, from Southeast Asia to Latin America, in support of an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Close to 22,000 people, most of them women and children have been killed in Gaza which has been under devastating Israeli bombardment since October 7.
