Gaza - Hundreds of Palestinians and Israelis demonstrated Thursday against Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, and were praised by Hamas leader Isamil Haniya, who said their support strengthened the "steadfastness" of the Islamist organization. The rally, held one year after Israel's fierce offensive against militants in the Strip, took place on both sides of the Erez crossing point, at the northern end of the coastal enclave. The demonstrators in Gaza were bolstered by 86 international activists whom Egypt allowed into the salient on Wednesday night.
Israel imposed the blockade over three years ago, after militants in the salient snatched an Israeli soldier in a cross-border raid.
Hundreds of protesters who gathered near the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun chanted slogans against Israel and called for an end to the blockade.
On the Israeli side the demonstrators waved flags of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
"We succeeded in overcoming the occupation's (Israel's) plans. We are certain we will meet at the al-Aqsa mosque and that Jerusalem will continue being Arab and Islamic," Haniya said.
The Hamas leader was able to speak to the demonstrators on the Israeli side of the crossing by calling the cell-phone of an Israeli- Arab legislator and having his remarks relayed via a loudspeaker system.
Hamas refuses to recognize Israel and wants to set up an Islamic state in all of the territory now encompassing the Gaza Strip, Israel and the West Bank.
Jamal al-Khodari, head of the "Popular Committee to Challenge the Gaza Blockade" called for the immediate ending of the blockade and the reopening of all crossing points, either between Gaza and Israel, or between Gaza and Egypt.
Egypt has also kept the Rafah border crossing between the salient and the Sinai peninsula tightly shut.
The 86 activists, part of a much large group of 1,300, arrived in the Strip on Wednesday night, after spending several days in Cairo waiting for Egyptian authorities to allow them to cross into the enclave via the Rafah crossing point. They will meet with Hamas officials, and visit areas hit in the Israeli bombardments, visit Shifa hospital, and meet with community leaders, Hamdi Shaath, the head of the pro-Hamas Committee to Defeat the Blockade, said.
"I can never forget Palestine," said Yousef Barakat, an American- Palestinian who left in 1948 when he was 12 years old.
One of the foreign activists who took part in the Gaza demonstrations said that "there are hundreds of foreign activists demonstrating in Egypt at not being allowed to reach Gaza."
Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/301649,palestinians-israelis-demonstrate-against-gaza-blockade--summary.html.
An Open Letter to Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
9 years ago
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.