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Saturday, January 03, 2009
22:52 Mecca time, 19:52 GMT
News Middle East
Worldwide protests denounce Israel

Palestinians demonstrate in the Israeli town of Sakhnin [AFP]

Angry protests against Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip have continued throughout the world, with two of the largest demonstrations taking place in London and in Sakhnin in northern Israel.

Other large demonstrations were staged in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, Turkey and the West Bank.

Protesters in Kabul pumped their fists into the air and shouted slogans against Israel and the United States, while in Srinagar activists burned an effigy of Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister.

In Ramallah in the West Bank, Palestinians seeking national unity marched through streets and there were clashes with Israeli riot police.

Israel protests

In the northern Israeli town of Sakhnin up to 150,000 Israeli-Palestinians have protested against Israel's offensive.

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Crowds waving Palestinian flags and brandishing pro-Palestinian placards chanted "Gaza will not surrender to the tanks and bulldozers!" and "Don't fear, Gaza, we are with you!"

Thousands of police were deployed on the outskirts of the town and across northern Israel following a number of violent protests against the Gaza operation in recent days.

Following a minute's silence, Mazem Ghanaim, Sakhnin's mayor, called for an immediate halt to the Gaza offensive.

Ghanaim said: "The Israeli occupation forces is conducting crimes in Gaza before the eyes of the international community. We call for an immediate stop to the Gaza offensive."

He also said Gaza fighters should halt their rocket fire against southern Israel.

Mohammed Barakeh, an Israeli-Palestinian politician, said the Sakhnin demonstration was "our answer to the Israeli threats against the Palestinian people in Gaza".

"We are determined to stand alongside our brothers in Gaza to stop the bloodshed and massacre," he said.

Mubarak 'coward'

Israeli-Palestinians have staged several big demonstrations since Israeli warplanes launched air assaults on Gaza.

Some protesters in Sakhnin called Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president, a "coward" and accused him of "collaborating with the Americans".

In Europe, demonstrators have taken place across Britain with the biggest rally in London.

Tens of thousands of protesters including singer Annie Lennox, human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger and Ken Livingstone, the city's former mayor, marched through the capital.

Shoes litter Whitehall in London in protest against Israel [AFP]
Marchers on the event organised by the Stop the War Coalition were to leave old shoes for Gordon Brown, the country's prime minister, at his Downing Street residence, in the spirit of an Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at George Bush, the US president.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alexei Sayle, a British writer and entertainer, said: "I think we should withdraw our ambassador from Tel Aviv, we should call an immediate halt to European Union-Israel trade negotiations, we should start looking at a boycott of Israeli products and a boycott of Israel's financial services."

Protests were also held in Manchester, in northwest England, and in Glasgow in Scotland.

The march caps a week of demonstrations in London, including a rally outside Egypt's embassy on Friday, urging Cairo to open its crossing with Gaza to allow refugees through.

'Killer Israel'

Hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian activists and schoolchildren protested in front of the United Nations building in Beirut.

One protester said he hoped the Lebanon-Israel borders would be opened so that he could go to fight alongside Palestinians.

Murad, a Palestinian refugee, said: "We want to at least be able to go and fight. We want Sayyed Hassan [Nasrallah, the Hezbollah secretary-general] to do anything to open the borders so we can go and fight and, God willing, we will be victorious."

In Ankara, Turkey's capital, about 5,000 people shouted "killer Israel" during an anti-Israeli rally as anger mounted in a country traditionally considered an ally of Israel.

The demonstration is the second largest in Turkey in as many days.

The protesters, who turned out in freezing weather, shouted "resist and win freedom" in support of Hamas.

Many waved Palestinian flags and wore headbands with Arabic scripts.

The fighting has troubled Turkey's efforts to help broker peace between Israel and its Arab opponents, forcing Turkey to suspend its mediation between Israel and Syria and leading to resignations by some of Turkey's politicians from a Turkish-Israeli friendship group.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
 
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Feedback Number of comments : 5
 
Ericka
Afghanistan
04/01/2009
Outrage
I'm an American citizen and I'm outraged by Israel's actions. I have never been able to get a reasonable or acceptable answer as to why my country supports Israel other than their own bloody history of acquiring the United States. I don't understand and this is outrageous. Is there anything we can do?

David
United States
04/01/2009
Israel Massacre
If the Israelis decide to commit a real massacre, I wonder what these posts will say? Israel has the weaponry to destroy all of Gaza without risking one soldier. Why don't they? Give us readers some credit spare us all the fiction from 'teens' who have supposedly become homeless as a result of attacks and have no electric but still have internet access to post here. If you will accuse them anyway, maybe the Israelis ought to focus on civilians for a bit so the readers can distinguish

Melanie
Canada
05/01/2009
Worldwide Protest
There have been protests worldwide. One in Montréal today where several thousands braved -20 temperature. I hope there will be so many more and more shoes flung at politicians who are never held accountable for their poor decisions.

will fraser
Afghanistan
04/01/2009
worldwide protests
Angry Muslims? Since when is this news? Everywhere this religion is next to other ethnic or religious groups, there is warfare, terrorism, and attacks on the infidel. Hamas rocketing of Israel is more of the same hatred and intolerance. Since when do the Israelis not have a right to defend themselves against rocket attacks? wbf austin texas

Catarina Williams
United States
08/01/2009
International violation of Humanitarian Law
I have cried so much these last eleven days. I have cried with myself and with my Jewish friends that live in Israel and condemn what their government is doing and what the U.S.A. is funding. Generation X, Y and Z do not view life the same way our parents do. We stand for higher standards because we will have to live with the destruction the old generation is creating for our future. Shame on you Israel and USA-government handful of people that think they own the world & are on a power trip.

 
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