Worldwide Protests Against Gaza Attack

Over the past week, protests have swept across cities in US, Canada, Europe and several other parts of the world against the Israeli attack on Gaza, which entered its 17th day on Thursday.

According to Palestinian sources quoted by Israeli media, 718 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 4,000 injured since the attack started. The dead include over 170 children. On the Israeli side, 32 soldiers have died during the land incursion which started a week ago.

Sixty-four public figures, including seven Nobel Peace Prize winners, called for an international arms embargo on Israel for its "war crimes and possible crimes against humanity" in Gaza.

Among the signatories were Nobel peace laureates Desmond Tutu, Betty Williams, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, Jody Williams, Adolfo Peres Esquivel, Mairead Maguire and Rigoberto Menchu. Others who signed the petition included academics Noam Chomsky and Rashid Khalidi, filmmakers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, musicians Roger Waters and Brian Eno, writers Alice Walker and Caryl Churchill, and journalists John Pilger and Chris Hedges. Two Israelis, academics Ilan Pappe and Nurit Peled, signed the letter as well.

In the US, demonstrations were held in Washington, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Oakland, Denver, Indianapolis, New Hampshire, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, and other cities in the US protesting against the Israeli attack and killing of innocents.

In Canada, street protests were held in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched in London on Saturday, collecting at the prime minister's residence at 10 Downing Street and then moving across town to Kensington where the Israeli consulate is located. In UK, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Liverpool, Brighton and other cities too saw smaller protests. A protest was held in Dublin (Ireland) too.

Paris saw a series of demonstrations that turned violent with youths burning cars and rubbish bins. The government reacted strongly by banning demonstrations but angry protestors defied the orders prompting police reprisals. Demonstrations were held in several other French cities including Marseille and Nantes.

Besides France, Europe was convulsed by a wave of protests that swept from Bergen (Norway) and (Malmo) Sweden through Amsterdam (Holland), Berlin and Frankfurt (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Barcelona and Madrid (Spain) and down to Athens in Greece.

In Turkey, both Ankara and Istanbul witnessed massive demonstrations on Friday. Protests in Istanbul turned violent and riot police fired teargas and water cannons to quell the protestors.

In the Arab world, anger spilled out on the streets in Amman (Jordan), Beirut (Lebanon), Rabat (Morocco) and Tunis (Tunisia). In the Israeli capital Tel Aviv protestors against the attack on Gaza were confronted by rightwing demonstrators supporting the attack.

In South America, Quito (Ecuador), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Valparaiso (Chile) saw people marching on streets denouncing the Gaza attack. Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch in New Zealand, and Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra too saw protest demonstrations.

In South Africa, Durban and Cape Town saw huge protests over the weekend. Protests have also been reported from Jakarta, Beijing, Seoul and Japan. In India, demonstrations were held in Delhi and Mumbai.