Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Demonstrations worldwide, against Israeli bombing of Gaza


"Renewed protests at Israeli raids"

Video: Rallies in Indonesia, Iraq, Venezuela, Lebanon and Jordan.


Protests against the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip have again been taking place, with rallies in several cities across the region.


For a second day in Jordan, several thousand protesters gathered in Amman and burned Israeli and American flags.


There were similar rallies in Egypt, Syria, Libya and Iraq with many calling for a firm response from their leaders.


One of the largest gatherings was in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, organised by the Hezbollah movement.


Tens of thousands of people poured on to the streets of southern Beirut, many carrying Palestinian, Lebanese and Hezbollah flags and banners supporting the Palestinian people, the Associated Press news agency reported.


The rally was called for by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who in a speech on Sunday urged crowds in the Arab and Islamic world to rise up in support of Gaza.


He also urged his fighters in southern Lebanon, who fought a brief war with Israel in 2006, to be on alert in case of Israeli attacks.


In Amman demonstrators, responding to a call by Islamist-led trades unionists, marched to the office of Prime Minister Nader Dahabi and delivered a letter demanding Jordan scrap its 1994 peace treaty with Israel and close its embassy, the AFP news agency reported.


Egyptians staged their largest yet demonstration against Israel's offensive against the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, with thousands taking to the streets of central Cairo.



The rally was once again organised by the Islamist opposition in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Hamas first emerged.


Elsewhere in the Islamic world, there were anti-Israeli protests in Bangladesh and Pakistan.


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