On Saturday, thousands of pro-Palestine demonstrators marched in Washington, London, and other cities as part of a “global day of action” to reject US and British backing for Israel and to urge an immediate cease-fire in the violence in Gaza.
On the 99th day of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, thousands of demonstrators, many of them were wearing the traditional keffiyeh, gathered in Washington, D.C., waving Palestinian flags in a show of solidarity.
“Cease-fire now,” protesters held placards and signs that said, “Free Palestine” and “End the War on Gaza.”
Several Palestinian-Americans, who were originally from Gaza but are now residents of US states ranging from Michigan to Texas, spoke movingly about friends and family who were killed or injured in Gaza on a stage a few blocks from the White House.
They urged US President Joe Biden to cut all financial and military aid to Israel.
To thunderous applause, one speaker declared, “President Biden can easily stop this madness” by applying pressure to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
To maintain security for the rally in London on Saturday, over 1,700 police officers were on duty.
“Our goal is to demonstrate our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to voice our opposition to our government,” Maleeha Ahmed, a 27-year-old health service worker who attended the march with her family, told AFP.
37-year-old Dipesh Kothar, another marcher, expressed frustration over having to “sit and watch the world do nothing”
“That’s why we come out to show support for the Palestinian people and show our unhappiness with the governments around the world,” he stated.
The fact that US and British aircraft struck Huthi bases in Yemen this week after the militants backed by Iran targeted ships in the Red Sea in support of Gaza made Saturday’s marches especially significant.
Thirty countries participated in protests on the day of action, which was organized by a consortium based in Britain.
The purpose of the event, according to Kate Hudson of the coalition member Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, is “to demand a permanent cease-fire and a lasting political settlement for all Palestinians.”
She stated that the British government “must end its support for Israel’s brutal war in Gaza, and join the wider international community in condemning its war crimes.”
