As the IDF death toll rose to more than 8,000, hundreds of thousands of people gathered this weekend around the world to demand an end to the massacre. Unprecedented international mobilization in the last 20 years.
Photo credit: Aljazeera / Protests in Kerala
This weekend, as Israel began a new phase of its attack on Gaza, massive demonstrations again swept the world, demanding an end to the colonial massacres perpetrated by Israel. The demonstrations were attended by hundreds of thousands of people in the Middle East and the Maghreb, as well as around the world, in many countries, while international anti-war mobilization has not been as massive since the movement against the war in Iraq.
The Middle East and the Maghreb, where large-scale mobilizations have occurred in recent weeks, such as demonstrations in Egypt and Algeria, were once again this weekend at the forefront of pro-Palestinian mobilization. Baghdad, for example, became the center of intense demonstrations, while many West Bank residents gathered in Hebron under the slogan “ does not contribute to the murder of Palestinian children », addressed to people all over the world. In Morocco, Casablanca was draped with Palestinian flags during a massive gathering, while in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, whose southern region has been targeted by Israel several times since October 7, several thousand people gathered, many of them wearing keffiyehs, which are a symbol of Palestine. Palestinian resistance. In Turkey, the ruling AKP is organizing massive demonstrations, while Erdogan hopes to strengthen himself politically by presenting himself as an unconditional ally of Palestine and Hamas.
Mobilization also occurred on a large scale in the Anglo-Saxon world: 100,000 people took to the streets of London this Sundaywhile the country’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is an unconditional supporter of Israel’s colonial operations, presented as ” right to defend oneself “. An opportunity for many organizations to take part in the demonstration, such as environmental associations Fossil Free Londonfrom the British wing of the anti-racist movement Black Lives Matteror even anti-Zionist Jewish organizations No, no.
The struggle of the Palestinian people resonates especially in Britain, the parallels are clear to many people between the colonization of Palestine by Israel and the colonization of 1/8 of the world by Britain, this former empire had a huge influence. responsibility for the current situation in Palestine, which was a colony for 30 years. Anadolu reports the words of Patrick, 73, who demonstrated yesterday in London: “ As an Irishman, I express my solidarity with Palestine because what is happening in Gaza is similar to what is happening in Ireland. »
Friday 27 October, several thousand activists from Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City organized a massive sit-in at Grand Central Station. 300 of them have been arrested by the police. Other demonstrations took place across America, such as “ Brooklyn floods for Gaza » (“ flooded Brooklyn towards Gaza “) or the important demonstrations in Detroit and San Francisco that took place on Saturday 28 October, while American President Joe Biden continued to provide unconditional support for Israel.
In France, the repression was also violent, many gatherings were banned, but this did not prevent thousands of people from taking to the streets this Saturday. At the same time, on Sunday, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Madrid, there are 5000 in Athens, several thousand in Rome, several hundred in Warsaw, several hundred in Zagrebas good as several thousand in Geneva, Oslo, Wellington, Stockholm, Berlin, Toronto, New Delhi, etc..
At the same time, more than 100,000 people demonstrated in Kozhikode, in the Indian state of Kerala, on the initiative ofIndian Union Muslim Leaguewith the slogan ” Let’s save Palestine, let’s save humanity; ending Israeli attacks on Gaza; long live an independent Palestine “. In Malaysia, several thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the American embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Finally, thousands more demonstrated in Islamabad and Quetta in Pakistan, at the call of Jamiat Ulama Islam and Jammat-e-Islami.
These demonstrations, which shook the entire world and brought together hundreds of thousands of people, demonstrated enormous international solidarity with the Palestinian people. Since the Iraq War in 2003, no anti-war movement has reached such a scale. It is up to us to transform the anger against the colonial massacre of Palestinians, which is widespread among the world’s population, into a real movement capable of repelling Israel and its imperialist allies and thereby ending the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza. .
