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Israel Continues Assault, Despite Worldwide Protests
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by Mary Richard | January 2, 2009 at 11:11 pm
140 views | 12 Recommendations | 3 comments
A series of worldwide protests and continued calls from international leaders for a ceasefire were not enough to stop the conflict in Gaza, as Israel continued its week-long assault on Hamas targets throughout Friday. There were also indications Friday that Israel could soon expand its military operation with a ground invasion on Gaza.
Tens of thousands of people held anti-conflict protests across the globe on Friday, calling for their local governments to bring sanctions against Israel and for the fighting to come to an end.In London, several celebrities -- including former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger -- voiced their opposition to the conflict and called for Israel to halt its assault on Gaza.
A large protest in Bern, Switzerland, saw hundreds of marchers calling for both a ceasefire and sanctions to be brought against Israel.
Thirty-seven people were detained in Moscow after protesting the conflict outside the city's Israeli Embassy.
About 6,000 people chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America" in Tehran, Iran.
Egyptian officials sent hundreds of riot police to a Cairo mosque to keep protesters away and police arrested 40 members of the Muslim Brotherhood opposition group. Another 3,000 pro-Gaza supporters marched in the northern Sinai city of el-Arish.
Some 30,000 Jordanians made their support for Gaza known at a stadium in Amman, and 10,000-plus Muslims marched through Jakarta, Indonesia aiming fake missiles at the city's U.S. Embassy that were labeled "Target: Tel Aviv, Israel."
Similar anti-Israel protests took place in the capital cities of Afghanistan and the Philippines, as well as in several Turkish cities and in Damascus, Syria.
Syrian President Bashar Assad reportedly spoke with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday and asked for the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to force Israel to immediate stop its military actions in Gaza.
In Nairobi, Kenya, hundreds of Muslims held a rally at a central mosque. Many chanted for their government to cut off its ties with Israel.
In Sudan, thousands of protesters marched through Khartoum making anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. statements.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to push for a cessation of fighting when he visits the region next week. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she has no plans to make a similar trip. "Hamas has held the people of Gaza hostage ever since their illegal coup against the forces of President Mahmoud Abbas," she said. She said the United States wants to see a "durable and sustainable" ceasefire. Meanwhile, in Canada, Liberal foreign affairs critic Bryon Wilfert called on all sides of the dispute to halt the violence so that desperately needed aid can reach the residents of Gaza.
Christopher Gunnes, A UN Relief Works Agency spokesperson, said some aid has made it through in the last day, but he added that with each bomb that Israel drops, the situation worsens for children and families. He noted that the medical situation is so desperate in Gaza that people with limbs blown off are being turned away because of lack of supplies.
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George Gahooch (not verified)
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 04:09 on January 3rd, 2009
It is a disaster in the making and Israel was about to have all the support it ever wanted from it Arab neighbour is now blown out the window for good and very unlikely to come around again in our life time.
at 06:54 on January 3rd, 2009
I don't think the numbers add up to "tens of thousands". Subtract the obvious numbers from the Arab states and Iran (and the best Iran can do is 6,000 ??) and you'll see that the numbers protesting Israel's actions are low, very low.
It appears that Hamas has little support because people understand it's a terrorist operation that deliberately targets Israeli civilians as well as deliberately putting Gazan women and children in harms way. With the money they've received from the UN and Europe they could have done wonderful things for the people, instead they use the resources for war. They provoked this war and now they're leaders, who hide in underground bunkers (while sending other to "martyrdom") are whining because they're getting their butts kicked.
By the way, it doesn't appear that Hamas has much support among other Arabs, either. They don't seem to be in any hurry to stop Israel.
at 16:34 on January 17th, 2009