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Thousands rally in world capitals against Israel

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-01-11 21:32

"UNACCEPTABLE WAR"

"We are here to demand the end to this unacceptable war. There are more than 800 victims including numerous children and civilians. We cannot accept that," said Communist Party leader Marie-George Buffet at the Paris march.

A protestor holds a placard in Hyde Park before a march to the Israeli Embassy to demonstrate against the conflict in Gaza, in London, January 10, 2009. [Agencies]

Israeli tanks advanced on Gaza and Hamas militants fired rockets at Israel on Saturday as both sides ignored international calls to stop the conflict. Israel is demanding a complete halt to Hamas rocket fire, plus regional and international guarantees to stop the group rearming via smuggling tunnels under the border with Egypt.

More than 40,000 people protested against the Gaza assault in towns across Germany, while demonstrators at the Israeli embassy in Dublin threw shoes and carried a mock coffin, covered with pictures of wounded or dead Palestinian children.

"The haunting images of homes wrecked, of terrified families existing among rubble in shock and despair, and of endless funerals, has rightly outraged people across the world," said Gerry Adams, president of nationalist party Sinn Fein.

"It is time all of this was brought to an end: The slaughter of people in Gaza must end," Adams told a Dublin rally.

Thousands of Lebanese Shi'ites who turned out for the Muslim Ashura festival in the southern Lebanese town of Nabatiyeh also protested against the Israeli offensive, carrying Hezbollah and Palestinian flags.

"We tell the people of Gaza and the elderly in Gaza and the heroes of the resistance, you are not alone, we are with you ... victory is yours, God willing," Mohammed Raad, a senior Hezbollah official, told the crowd.

BURNING FLAGS AND FIREWORKS

Demonstrators set fire to an Israeli flag during an anti-Israeli rally in Stockholm, January 10, 2009. [Agencies]

In Athens, hundreds of riot police carrying plastic shields watched as about 2,000 demonstrators marched to the Israeli embassy, fearing a revival of violent street protests which rocked the city last month.

Thousands marched in Sweden's biggest cities, burning Israeli flags and setting off fireworks.

A demonstrator lights a candle during a protest in Paris against Israel's offensive on Gaza, January 10, 2009. [Agencies]

Protesters gathered in several Italian cities, some shouting "Free Palestine, Gaza will win" while others burnt an Israeli flag. Protests in Poland were largely peaceful.

In the second day of protests in San Francisco, demonstrators on either side of the conflict shouted at each other outside City Hall on Saturday, waving signs as police looked on.

Related readings:  Thousands in Europe protest Gaza violence  tIsrael tells Gazans to brace for war escalation  Israeli troops, militants battle in Gaza suburb  Israel, Hamas defy UN call for ceasefire

The pro-Israeli protesters that organized the demonstration and march gathered behind barricades holding Israeli flags and signs reading "Stop Missile Attacks on Israel" and "We Stand for Peace, We Stand with Israel."

On the other side of the barricades marched pro-Palestinian protesters carrying "Let Gaza Live" signs.

Support for an end to the assault also came from Africa, where Benin voodoo priests sacrificed a cock, spilling its blood on the ground, as they offered prayers and sacrifices to gods and ancestors to seek an end to fighting in Gaza and elsewhere.

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