10,000 demonstrate in Paris near Israeli embassy to condemn Rafah massacre
At least 10,000 people participate in demonstrations near the Israeli embassy in Paris, condemning Israel’s recent devastating bombardment of the city of Rafah in Gaza, which killed dozens of civilians.
The demonstrations, organized by the Association France-Palestine Solidarity, were held on Monday, a day after Israel’s horrendous assault on Rafah ignited a blaze in a makeshift settlement resulting in the massacre of 45 people. The attack prompted widespread global censure against Israel.
The protesters assembled a couple of hundred meters away from the embassy in the heart of the French capital on Monday, where demonstrators voiced their support for Palestine by chanting slogans, and waving Palestinian flags.
“It is a massacre too many,” said François Rippe of the Association France-Palestine Solidarity group.
“We are all Gaza children”, “Free Gaza”, the pro-Palestinian protesters chanted.
In a video posted on social media, thousands were also heard chanting, “The whole world hates Israel.”
“They start a fire in a camp for displaced, they burn people and we (France) don’t even summon the Israeli ambassador to ask for an account. It is just not acceptable,” Rippe said.
The death toll from Israeli airstrikes against displaced people’s tents in the refugee-packed city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip rises to at least 50 people.
The French National Police’s general reserve force encircled the protesters, creating a situation where leaving the square seemed nearly impossible. Nevertheless, the protesters persisted in chanting slogans denouncing Israel and calling for an immediate “ceasefire.”
The protesters who tried to reach the Israeli embassy were met with teargas shells fired by the police, prompting them to change their route as the embassy was less than a kilometer away.
Upon re-routing to the embassy route, the authorities continued with the tear-gassing of the protesters, forcing them to disperse.
“We participate in this march, which is scheduled to reach the Israeli embassy to confirm and loudly say that we are all against what happened in Rafah,” the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party’s deputy Carlos Martens Bilongo told Anadolu before the police tear-gassed the protesters.
The demonstrators also chanted slogans against French President Emmanuel Macron, denounced Israel as an “assassin” entity, and expressed solidarity with Palestinians through chants such as “Gaza…Paris stands with you.”
A prominent banner displayed at the rally featured Macron, US President Joe Biden, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside the message “it is humanity they are assassinating.”
Similar demonstrations against Israel have also been reported in Madrid and Barcelona.
Dozens of Palestinian civilians were killed when the warplanes of the Israeli regime launched an attack on the tents of displaced people in the northwest of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
At least 50 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli airstrike that caused a huge blaze at a tented area for displaced people in Rafah. The brutal attack with images of charred and dismembered children has prompted a chorus of worldwide condemnation.
