Keystone-SDA
Thousands of people marched Thursday in several European countries to denounce the interception by Israeli naval forces with a pro-Palestinian humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza.
(Keystone-ATS) More than 400 activists aboard 41 ships were arrested in an operation of approximately twelve hours, said an Israeli official on Thursday evening, while Israel is preparing to expel the activists who were on board.
In Italy, where the unions called for a general strike for Friday, thousands of people went down to the street, like Rome where, the day after a similar demonstration, demonstrators gathered at night near the Colosseum, an emblematic monument of the Italian capital.
The demonstrators also displayed their opposition to the support of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Israel, the day after a similar demonstration on Wednesday evening. “Instead of defending the victims, the (Italian) government defends the attackers, and it is absolutely intolerable,” Gianfranco Pagliarulo, 76, told AFP.
“We are ready to block everything. The genocidal machine must stop immediately, “said the demonstrators in particular.
In Barcelona, the second city in Spain, in the northeast of the country, many demonstrators, many of whom brandished Palestinian flags, converged towards the central square of Les Drassanes, chanting slogans such as “Gaza, you are not alone”, “Boycott Israel” and “Liberty for Palestine”.
“Break the seat”
In Belgium, around 3000 people gathered in front of the European Parliament in Brussels. Equipped with smoke bombs, many of them agitated Palestinian flags and keffihs shouting “Free Palestine“. They also deployed a banner proclaiming “Sail to Gaza and Break the Siege” (Navigate to Gaza and break the seat “).
“The message is to protect each boat, each human who finds himself on each boat, whatever their nationality. (…) These are citizens, they are deputies, they are people who are protest, who do the work that our governments should do, “a French -speaking demonstrator told AFP.
In Ireland, several hundred demonstrators massaged in front of the Parliament in Dublin. Among them, Miriam McNally, whose daughter is on a flotilla boat. “I am here to provide my support in the first place to Palestine, Gaza, who undergoes a genocide from the Israeli government,” she told AFP.
“I also support the members of the flotilla who were illegally kidnapped last night in international waters by Israel. I support my daughter ”, which is part” of the flotilla, she added.
In The Hague, in the Netherlands, several hundred demonstrators gathered before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before being dispersed by the riot police. They then joined the central station, where some of them entered the tracks, interrupting rail traffic which should not resume before 9:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. GMT), according to the NS railway company.
“Free Palestine”
In France, a thousand people gathered Place de la République in Paris, AFP noted, while in Marseille (southeast), a hundred Propalestinian demonstrators were arrested in the afternoon while they were trying to block access to the site of the Eurolinks arms company, accused of selling military components in Israel.
Demonstrations have also brought together a few hundred people in Lille (North), Grenoble (Southeast), Lyon (Center-East) and Rennes (West).
In Switzerland, several thousand demonstrators paraded in the streets of Geneva, lighting a joy fire in the city center and blocking the main bridge during a noisy rally punctuated by acclamations, applause and slogans, before briefly facing the police, noted an AFP journalist.
Many people wore the Palestinian flag on their shoulders. Protesters climbed on a roof to deploy a giant Palestinian flag while others brandished flags on which “anti -Zionist, Palestine Free action” could be read. Demonstrations also took place in Bern, Zurich, Lugano, or Lausanne the day before.
In addition, in Malaysia, dozens of people demonstrated in front of the United States Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. We are “upset, angry, disgusted, because what they do (the members of the flotilla, editor’s note) is for humanity, they simply provide help, food for babies and other things of this kind,” said Ili Farhana, 43.
