Israeli Embassy - Jewish protestors arrested
REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN)
A police officer, with his baton drawn, tries to control the crowd of pro-Palestinian demonstrators near the Israeli Embassy in London December 28, 2008. The demonstrators were protesting against the Israeli strikes on Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest near the Israeli Embassy in London Dcember 28, 2008, against the Israeli strikes on Gaza
( Katie Collins/PA)
Violent protests at Israeli Embassy in London
I arrived at 3 & left just after 5. The Met were using more force by that point. We saw them aggressively removing people (both m+f) from the line.
Cars parked on the side of Ken High St were damaged by the Met forcing the line back with dogs causing some people to go over them to escape the crush.
Victor Itu, London,
I was there today also and the protests were peaceful with only the a handfull of police causing unneeded agression by pushing the crowds and restricting their space. Apart from that the police and protestors were peaceful and non violent, and the message is clear...end zionist criminal agression.
omar ahmad, london, uk
These mobs will stand silently by as long as terrorists are firing rockets into Israel, will protest any media attention toward the terrorist attacks on Israel, and will attack embassies when Israel strikes back at the extremists in Gaza who fire rockets over the border constantly.
Barton Fink, Seattle, USA
Police said up to 700 people joined the demonstration and nearby Kensington High Street was closed to traffic.
The protesters resisted and threw placards when officers forcibly moved them back so that the road could be reopened.
The UK government has urged an "immediate halt" to violence in Gaza.
The protesters had gathered to wave placards, banners and flags bearing slogans such as "End the Siege in Gaza" and "Free Palestine".
Among them was 68-year-old Gamal Hamed, from Hammersmith, west London, whose 23-year-old son lives in Gaza.
"Yesterday was the bloodiest day in my homeland's history," he said. "We will do what we can to make the world take notice.Some protesters were seen attempting to climb the gate towards the embassy and also throwing red liquid - to symbolise blood - towards the gate.
The clashes began after a small group of protesters stormed a barrier that had been penning them in.
Riot police were brought in to control the crowds and demonstrators were seen being handcuffed and taken away by officers as they tried to clear the street.
Several protesters left the scene with bloodied faces, according to a reporter from the Press Association.
The crowd chanted "shame on you" at officers as they were moved back from the embassy on Palace Green to Kensington High Street.
Campaigners said protests would continue on Monday.
'Deeply disturbing'
Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes left hundreds dead.
He said a recent rise in rocket attacks against Israel and the "massive loss of life" from the Israeli bombings made it a "dangerous moment".
"The deteriorating humanitarian situation is deeply disturbing," he added.
The foreign secretary has called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza |
Mr Miliband said Prime Minister Gordon Brown had spoken his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert and made it clear Israel must stick by its humanitarian obligations.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said the amount of aid needed in Gaza was "enormous".
"I note statements by the government of Israel that it wishes to avoid a humanitarian crisis, and its willingness to assist by opening one of the crossings into Gaza for limited humanitarian supplies today," he said.
He added: "Rocket attacks out of Gaza into Israel are indefensible and hampering efforts to help."
Conservative leader David Cameron called the violence "horrific" and said both sides must show "restraint".
Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey described the strikes as "disproportionate" and "unacceptable".
'Shun Israel'
The demonstration outside the embassay was organised by the Stop the War Coalition and Respect MP George Galloway and former Labour MP Tony Benn were among those who addressed the crowd.
Afterwards Mr Galloway said: "The support at today's demonstration has been overwhelming. There are even Jewish rabbis who have joined us here.
"We should treat Israel as we treated South Africa during apartheid. They should be shunned."
One of the event's organisers, Ghada Razuki, said she was pleased with the turnout.
"I hope that events like today's show that there is hope for Palestinians - I really hope they see it," she said.
Israeli jets have launched a second day of air attacks on the Gaza Strip amid warnings that operations will continue until Hamas ends rocket fire from Gaza.
Palestinians say at least 280 people have died in the air raids.
The UN Security Council has called for an end to all violence, including rocket attacks from Gaza.
Anti-Israel protests over Gaza raids draw thousands across Europe | |||
By DPA and the Associated Press | |||
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More than 1,000 people staged protests in Paris on Sunday against one of Israel's strike on Palestinian militants, police said, as the French government pushed for a halt to fighting. "Some 1,300 people gathered in northern Paris in the Barbes neighborhood, and 150 gathered near the landmark Arc de Triomphe," a police spokeswoman said. The Barbes neighborhood has a large Arab population. "Both protests were peaceful," she added. Near Champs-Elysees, several police vans and officers formed a broad security perimeter around the tightly guarded Israeli Embassy.
France appears to be trying to use its last days as United Nations' president to press for a halt to fighting. On Thursday France will pass the EU presidency to the Czech Republic. "Europe has a role to play," French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said in an interview published Sunday. Kouchner spoke to Abbas and Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit on Saturday. "The Egyptians are capable of restarting the peace process, we must help them," Kouchner said, and noted that the attacks come in a context of vacancy of power in Israel and the U.S. as both countries are undergoing leadership transitions. Manwhile, some 2,000 people staged a noisy protest outside the Israeli embassy in London on Sunday in response to Israeli air strikes that left hundreds dead in the Gaza Strip. Police were forced to call in reinforcements after protesters tore down barriers holding them back and hurled projectiles in the direction of the diplomatic mission. Six people were charged with disturbing public order after police forcibly removed a number of protesters from the gathering in the west of London. Traffic in the area ground to a halt as the protest swelled from an initial group of 500 Palestinians and other people opposed to the Israeli military action in Gaza. "Israel is a terrorist state," chanted demonstrators as Palestinian flags were waved. Other protesters held up posters reading "Holocaust in Gaza." British Foreign Secretary David Milliband called for an "immediate halt to all violence" in Gaza. He said a cease-fire was urgently needed to halt the "massive loss of life" from the Israeli bombings. Milliband said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had contacted his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert and made it clear Israel must stick by its humanitarian obligations. |
Boldly tackling the Palestine question |
By Adel Safty, Special to Gulf News |
Earlier this month, the UN Security Council in a non-binding statement condemned the violence of Israeli colonists against Palestinians in Hebron. The statement "welcomed Israel's evacuation of settlers [colonists] from the compound in Hebron on December 4", and "condemned the resulting settler [colonist] violence, including against Palestinian civilians and property". The Council urged for "respect for the rule of law without discrimination or exception". Some 200 colonists had illegally moved into the so-called House of Contention in the Palestinian city of Hebron. An Israeli court ordered the eviction of the colonists from the building and when Israeli forces moved to implement the order the colonists randomly attacked Palestinians opening fire on them, torching their fields, hurling stones at Palestinian vehicles, and vandalising Palestinian properties. The colonists also desecrated Muslim cemeteries in Hebron and painted anti-Muslim graffiti on mosque walls. The Israeli press reported that officials quickly moved to wash off the graffiti before pictures of it could be obtained by the Qatari news station Aljazeera. If desecration of Muslim cemeteries had been broadcast to the Arab and Muslim world, Israeli officials feared, a "major conflagration" would have erupted. "When a grave is destroyed at a Jewish cemetery in Russia," an Israeli officer told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, "the entire State of Israel is in shock. In Hebron, Muslim graves have been defaced for several days now." But perhaps the strongest condemnation came from the outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "The sight of Jews firing at innocent Palestinians," he reportedly told a cabinet meeting, "has no other name than a pogrom". He added: "I am ashamed that Jews could do such a thing." Olmert's feelings of indignation and shame at colonists' violence are praiseworthy. If these feelings were boldly extended to cover state-sanctioned violence against equally innocent Palestinians, a measure of justice would be restored and the cause of peace served. As Olmert was addressing the cabinet, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry's office in occupied Jerusalem reported "that all Gaza goods crossings were closed... Once again, no humanitarian supplies, fuel or commercial commodities are being allowed in..." BTselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, recently documented the complicity of the Israeli army with the colonists' violence against Palestinians. For years, Israeli authorities have barred Palestinians from accessing Palestinian land that surrounds the colonies. The colonists themselves have been erecting blocks to close lands adjacent to their colonies. Sufficient action In many cases, BTselem report found that "the authorities entrusted with enforcing the law not only fail to take sufficient action to end the violence and prosecute lawbreakers, they join them and block Palestinian access themselves." In addition to collective punishment, dispossession and house demolition - all barred by international law - there is the creeping colonisation enterprise, which not only continues the project of dispossession but also negates the proclaimed Israeli interest in a peace settlement. The roadmap - the peace plan endorsed by the Quartet, namely the US, Russia, the EU, and the UN, was accepted as the foundation of a negotiated settlement between the parties at the Annapolis conference last November. It clearly obliges the state of Israel to "freeze all settlement [colonisation] activity, including natural growth of settlements [colonies]". Yet, Israeli authorities have done the opposite. They accelerated the pace of colonisation activities, with the result that a viable Palestinian state is becoming increasingly elusive. The Palestinians are now pinning their hopes on the incoming US administration of Barack Obama. Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security advisers to presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr and Jimmy Carter, advised Obama, when he was running for election, on the Palestinian issue. Their views on the Palestinian issue have been outlined in a November 27 article in the Washington Post, entitled, "Middle East priorities for January 21". In it they write that: "We believe that the Arab-Israeli peace process is one issue that requires priority attention." The elements of any new initiative, they write, must include: "for the US president to declare publicly... the basic parameters of a fair and enduring peace". The two elder statesmen probably gave the same advice to Obama. On December 4, 2008, the New York Times reported that Obama was said to be planning a major foreign policy speech from a Muslim capital, likely Cairo. It would be a step in the right direction for Obama to boldly embrace and pursue the elements of a settlement that ensures a measure of justice, long denied to the Palestinian people.
Adel Safty's new book, Might Over Right, is endorsed by Noam Chomsky, and published by Garnet, England, 2008 |
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