The impact of the Gaza war spread around the world, often in the form of protests against Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, such as those that gathered on Saturday tens of thousands of people mostly in Europe but also in Washington and several Asian cities.
In London, according to police, around 30,000 demonstrators gathered in Trafalgar Square and called for an “immediate ceasefire” and an “end to the massacre”. Two weeks ago, British Home Secretary Suella Braverman called on the police to take tougher action against the protests. “There must be no place for incitement to hatred or violence,” a spokesman for the minister said at the time. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s full support for the Israeli government in its fight against Hamas – “today, tomorrow and always,” the Briton promised – found its counterpart in the streets of London and other British capitals, home to dozens of thousands of citizens have now expressed their support for the Palestinian cause for four consecutive weekends.
In Paris, police said, 19,000 people gathered for one of the first marches approved by the government, which initially did not approve them because it saw them as a possible field for anti-Semitism. Posters calling for a “free Palestine” could be seen at the demonstration. “We came to show the support of the French people for the Palestinians. We want peace and a two-state solution,” summarized Antoine Guerreiro, one of the demonstrators.
In Germany, which like France did not give the green light for demonstrations in the first days after the start of the war, the police estimated the number of participants in Berlin at more than 3,500. As in other European cities, Protestants used posters to call for “stop the genocide.” In all the marches spread across the continent, the flags of Palestine and other signs associated with the struggle of its people became widespread.
Thousands of demonstrators also marched through the streets of Washington. Some blamed President Joe Biden (whom some banners even called “genocidal Joe”) for his support for Israel and accused him of having “blood on his hands,” María Antonia Sánchez-Vallejo reports from New York. Participants in the protest gathered in Freedom Square, just steps from the White House. Some have vowed they will not support Biden’s bid for re-election next year. “We are just as human as Ukrainians,” some shouted.
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Protests in support of Palestine also took place in other countries such as Pakistan, Senegal and Iran, where protesters particularly attacked Israel and the United States.
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