From Amman and Baghdad to London and Berlin, hundreds of thousands gather across the world to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza. This is a demonstration in Paris, the French capital.
Paris, May 16 (RHC)-- Hundreds of thousands of protesters have marched across the world in support of Palestinians amid the worst Israeli-Palestinian violence since the 2014 Gaza war.
Protests took place in major cities around the world, including Doha, London, Paris and Madrid. In Iraq, thousands gathered in cities across the country to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. The demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and banners across five provinces in rallies called for by influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Protesters gathered in the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the southern provinces of Babylon, Dhi Qar, Diwanieh and Basra in a show of support.
In Doha, the capital of Qatar, thousands waved flags and displayed messages in solidarity with the Palestinians. “I am taking a stand against the genocide perpetrated by Israel in our country. We will do whatever it takes to free our country… Since we can’t be there in person, we are here at this protest today… I am very angry, very heartbroken by what is happening,” Reem Alghoul, a Palestinian living in Doha, told Al Jazeera.
In Paris, the French capital, hundreds converged in the Barbes neighbourhood in the north of Paris amid a significant security presence of some 4,200 officers. Paris police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the rally held despite a ban by authorities, who feared a flare-up of anti-Semitic violence during the worst violence between Israel and Hamas in years.
In Madrid, some 2,500 people, many of them young people wrapped in Palestinian flags, marched to the Puerta del Sol plaza in the city center. “This is not a war, it’s genocide,” they chanted.
In London, several thousand protesters carrying placards reading “Stop bombing Gaza” and chanting “Free Palestine” converged on Marble Arch to march towards the Israeli embassy. Packed crowds stretched along Kensington High Street where the embassy is located. Organizers claimed as many as 100,000 people had gathered for the demonstration through London; the police said it was unable to confirm any figure.
