Protests took place in major cities around the world, including London, Madrid and Istanbul.
Thousands of people around the world have taken to the streets to protest the war in Gaza, as Israel promises to move forward with its attack on Rafah in southern Gaza.
Waving pro-Palestinian flags and banners, thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid, Spain, demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Crowds snaked through the blocked streets from the Spanish capital’s Atocha train station to the central Plaza del Sol, carrying large banners reading “Freedom for Palestine”.
Many held placards that read “Peace for Palestine” and “Don’t ignore the suffering of Palestine.”
At least six ministers from Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet also took part in the demonstration, including five from the leftist Smar party and junior coalition partners, as well as Transport Minister Oscar Puente from the prime minister’s Socialist party.
“We need an immediate ceasefire, an end to the killings and attacks on innocent people. We must achieve the release of all hostages,” Puente told reporters at the beginning of the march.
According to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), around 250,000 people took part in protests in the British capital London demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Today, 250,000 people took to the streets demanding an immediate end to it. #ceasefireNOW to #StopGazaGenocide. We will not stop until Palestine is liberated 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/NPE5nqJpuZ
— PSC (@PSCupdates) February 17, 2024
Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett reports from London that organizers say the demonstrations in London are expected to be among the top three in terms of size since the Gaza war began in October. .
“This could indicate growing concern over the situation in Gaza, with Israel aiming to step up military operations in Rafah in the south. YouGov currently reports that two-thirds of British citizens released a poll showing support for an immediate ceasefire,” Fawcett said.
Fawcett said key members of the march arrived outside the Israeli embassy, where speeches of solidarity and static protests were held.
Organizers also timed the start of the march to ensure the event ended at a nearby Jewish synagogue.
More than 1,500 police officers were on the streets of London to control protests.
Twelve people were arrested on suspicion of placard-related crimes, assaulting a police officer and refusing to remove a face covering, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
“Despite these arrests, the overwhelming majority of those who took part were peaceful and acted entirely in accordance with the law,” police said in a statement on social media platform X.
Pro-Israel groups are trying to portray the large-scale pro-Palestinian movement in Britain as anti-Semitic. The protest movement sees this as an attempt to cover up Israel’s attack on Gaza, which has now killed around 29,000 people.
Pro-Palestinian protests erupted in Sweden and elsewhere, with people demanding that Israel stop attacking Rafah and calling for a ceasefire.
demonstration in israel
Protests were also held in the Israeli capital Tel Aviv and outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in West Jerusalem, where demonstrators demanded a prisoner exchange deal and immediate elections in the country.
The rally followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision last week not to send an Israeli delegation to Cairo for further negotiations on a deal to release more than 100 prisoners still held in Gaza.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum called the decision a “death sentence” for the remaining prisoners.
But Prime Minister Netanyahu, in a press conference on Saturday, denounced the possibility of elections being held now in Israel. He also said the Israeli military was “under pressure” against Hamas and claimed that his forces were “reaching the Gaza Strip, where the enemy never imagined.”
“Anyone who says not to operate in Rafah is the same as someone who is telling us to listen to them,” he added, adding that even if an agreement were reached, Israeli forces would not be able to protect the current population of more than 1 million displaced Palestinians. It said it would attack Rafah, a city in southern Gaza that hosts people. An agreement was reached with Hamas to release the prisoners.