Moroccans rally for Gaza ceasefire, against Israel ties

By: AFP
Published: 04:37 AM, 30 Oct, 2023
Moroccans rally for Gaza ceasefire, against Israel ties
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Tens of thousands of Moroccans marched Sunday through Casablanca in a show of solidarity with Palestinians, AFP correspondents said, more than three weeks into deadly war between Israel and Hamas.

"Stop the genocide in Gaza," read one banner at the march, echoing claims by Palestinian officials and Arab leaders as the death toll in Gaza has topped 8,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Israel has bombarded the narrow Palestinian enclave since Hamas militants on October 7 launched massive raids into southern Israel, killing at least 1,400 people, also mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

At the rally in Casablanca, banners called to "open the Rafah crossing" between Gaza and Egypt and "close the Zionist (Israeli) liaison office in Rabat", which had opened after Morocco and Israel normalised ties in 2020 in a US-brokered deal.

Jamel El Assri, coordinator for the anti-normalisation alliance of leftist parties and Islamists that organised the protest, said the turnout proved "once again that the Moroccan people speak with one voice, in support of the Palestinian people".

This was just the latest rally to draw vast crowds in the North African country since the Israel-Hamas war began.

"We came to show our solidarity with the Palestinian people in their resistance, to appeal for the lifting of the blockade against Gaza and for an end to the war," protester Amina Boukhelkhal told AFP.

Men, women and children, wearing keffiyeh scarves and brandishing Palestinian flags, streamed down a major road of the Moroccan economic capital, the AFP correspondents said.

The crowd chanted "the (Israeli) occupation must fall", "the people want the liberation of Palestine" and "we reject normalisation".

As part of the 2020 normalisation agreement, which saw Israel and Morocco establish formal ties, the United States recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara.

Thousands demand halt to 'Gaza massacre' in Athens protesthousands

More than 5,000 people protested in Athens on Sunday, police said, calling for an end to the "massacre" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"We are fighting for the peace of people," Athens News Agency quoted demonstrators as chanting through loudhailers.

"Stop the massacre of the Palestinian people in Gaza," they shouted.

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

Since the attack, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed -- half of them children -- by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardments.

The Athens demonstrators branded Israel a "murderous state" and also denounced the Greek government for abstaining at Friday's UN vote for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched in Britain on Saturday calling for a ceasefire as Israel's army intensified its assault on Gaza.

Thousands more demonstrated in France and Switzerland, as well at New York.

In Athens, the protesters marched to Israel's embassy in the Greek capital's Psychiko's suburb.

No trouble was reported during the demonstration.

Ambassador from the Palestinian Authority Youssef Dorchom attended the protest as did a large delegation from Greece's KKE Communist Party.

Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters demand ceasefire at Madrid march

Waving flags and banners, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through the streets of Madrid on Sunday to demand an immediate ceasefire in the deadly war between Israel and Hamas.

Cries of "Freedom for Palestine" rang out as the crowd snaked through the closed off streets of the Spanish capital.

Around 35,000 people took part according to the central government's delegation to Madrid, making it one of the biggest rallies in Spain in support of Palestinians since the attack by Hamas on Israel earlier this month.

Israel unleashed a bombing campaign after Hamas gunmen stormed across the Gaza border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 230 others, according to Israeli officials.

Since the attack, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed -- half of them children -- by Israel's relentless retaliatory bombardments.

The protest in Madrid came as Israel's military late on Friday intensified its air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Nisrin Mashal, a 45-year-old teacher, said she had come to the demonstration because she has family in Gaza as well as in the West Bank.

"I am very worried about my family because I haven't been able to talk with them in almost two days, it has been two days without receiving any message from them," she told AFPTV.

Demonstrators held signs that read "Fair peace", "Flames don't lie" and "Don't ignore the Palestinian suffering". Several people waved Palestinian flags.

"We are sharing from a distance this suffering of the Palestinian people," said Emilio Gonzalez, a 50-year-old IT consultant.

"We hope that they can achieve their final goal, the one they always wanted, to have a state of their own," he added.

Among those who took part was acting Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz of hard-left alliance Sumar who said "everyone is crying out for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza".

"It is a call that is being made from around the world," she told reporters at the start of the march.

Several thousand pro-Palestinian protesters took part in another march on Sunday in the port city of Valencia in eastern Spain.

Over 5,000 people protested in Athens on Sunday, a day after protests were held in Britain, France, Switzerland as well as New York.

Categories : World

AFP

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