Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Yesterday, Saturday, many European cities witnessed several demonstrations to express solidarity with the Palestinians who have been suffering for more than a month from the Israeli bombing of civilians in Gaza and elsewhere, and the continuing rise in casualties amid international silence and the inability to force Israel to stop the massacres committed against Palestinians in hospitals, homes, schools, and among others. Several European cities are scheduled to witness similar demonstrations today, Sunday, to put more pressure on political leaders in European countries that have begun to respond to the anger of the European street. Indeed, several European countries and institutions have modified their biased rhetoric toward Israel that they demonstrated at the beginning of the crisis.
Yesterday, Belgian cities, including Liège, Antwerp and Brussels, witnessed mass demonstrations of those sympathetic to the Palestinian people, and other European cities witnessed several demonstrations in support of the Palestinians and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, on the forty-fourth day of the escalation of the Israeli war on the Palestinians, according to the Spanish newspaper “Oberpador”.
The newspaper indicated that many marches were organized in London. In the north of the capital, hundreds of people demonstrated near the headquarters of the opposition leader, Labor Party leader Keir Starmer, who was criticized by some residents for refusing to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.
In France, pro-Palestinian demonstrators organized a march for the third week in a row, and according to the Confederation General of Labor (CGT), which called on residents to demonstrate for peace, 100,000 people took to the streets of the country, including 60,000 who demonstrated in Paris, despite the rain.
Bertrand Hellebrun, president of the French-Palestinian Solidarity Association, referred to the "unspeakable suffering of the Palestinian people" and called for "an end to the bombings" and "ground attacks" and to "lift the siege" imposed by the occupation forces on Gaza.
45,000 people participated in demonstrations in France to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, including 7,000 in Paris, according to what the French Ministry of the Interior announced on Saturday evening, while the General Confederation of Labor, one of the strongest French unions, counted the participation of 100,000 people in the country, from Including 60 thousand people in the French capital.
A large number of citizens gathered in Al-Jumhuriya Square, raising the Palestinian flag and banners demanding the liberation of the Gaza Strip and an end to the bombing, and other banners to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people, demanding an immediate ceasefire, a halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza, the lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, and the continued provision of humanitarian aid to the population. Civilians and the protection of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, chanting slogans in support of the Palestinians.
In Marseille, hundreds of people gathered near the old port and observed a minute of silence to mourn the lives of the Palestinian victims. In the city of Toulouse, about 1,200 people, according to the police, and 4,000 according to the General Confederation of Labor, participated in marches in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
In Portugal, thousands of people marched in central Lisbon behind a banner reading “Free Palestine,” and one of the demonstrators called Roy Faustino said, “I am here to support the Palestinian people, who have the right to have a state” of their own, and “to put pressure on Western governments.” To withdraw its political, diplomatic, economic and military support for Israel and to demand an end to the genocide.
In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, two demonstrations were held a few kilometers apart: one demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and the other demanding the release of hostages, and the marches were characterized by calm, according to what a police spokesman told the Dutch ANP agency.
In the Swiss city of Geneva, about 4,000 people, according to organizers, marched to the European headquarters of the United Nations, raising a banner reading: “Stop genocide in Gaza.”
The demonstrators lit candles and placed them on the ground, imitating the shape of the Gaza map. They raised a huge Palestinian flag and observed a minute of silence to mourn the souls of the victims.
In Poland, hundreds demonstrated in central Warsaw and gathered in front of the Israeli embassy, without any incidents.