Protests Erupt across Globe amid Israeli Attacks on Gaza
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Protests flared in various nations around the globe on Friday as the Gaza conflict intensified, coupled with Israeli military actions that raised concerns about the potential war crimes and displacement of Palestinian populations.
In Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and the West Bank, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets following Friday's Islamic prayers to express their opposition to Israel's actions in the ongoing war with Palestinians.
The conflict has already claimed the lives of 4,127 individuals in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israel initiated the war in response to an October 7 attack by Hamas, causing massive destruction of Gaza infrastructures and killing or wounding thousands of people, mostly women and children.
Israeli airstrikes and calls for Gazans to evacuate the northern region have prompted over a million people to flee, heightening concerns over the potential displacement of millions of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
Anger over the Israeli operation escalated in Egypt, where the nation experienced its first major nationwide protest in a decade. Demonstrations took place in various Egyptian cities, with protesters calling for Arab intervention.
In Beirut, Lebanon, hundreds denounced the Israeli offensive, waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, as well as flags representing Hezbollah resistance movement and Amal. Some protesters burned the American flag in protest of US support for Israel.
Iraq saw sit-ins and protests at key border crossings and in Baghdad near the Green Zone housing the US embassy.
Jordan's capital, Amman, witnessed approximately 6,000 demonstrators marching in solidarity with Gaza, with some calling for intensified Hamas strikes against Israel.
These protests underscore growing anger on the Arab streets and frustrations with the increasing Palestinian death toll, coupled with US reluctance to restrain Israel's actions.
US President Joe Biden, during his recent visit to Israel, reaffirmed support for the regime.
Jordan and Egypt, both US-allied countries bordering occupied Palestine, expressed concerns about a potential plan to transfer Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank into their territories, warning that such a move could lead to war.
Egypt's parliament authorized President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to take "necessary measures," even if they include waging war, to protect national security and support the Palestinians. Sisi suggested that Israel's evacuation calls for northern Gaza might be part of a larger plan to remove Palestinians from the entire region.
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that any attempt to displace Palestinians from the West Bank to Jordan would be considered a declaration of war.
Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza during the 1967 war, and although it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it continues to blockade the territory. The West Bank remains occupied, and there have been plans to extend Israeli jurisdiction there.
Egypt has pushed back against pressure and criticism, with its foreign ministry spokesperson denouncing Western media for holding Egypt responsible for the closure of the Rafah border crossing.
A planned summit on the Gaza conflict involving Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority with Biden was canceled, and instead, Egypt has organized its own Cairo Peace Summit with the participation of several countries and international organizations.
Egyptian television showed live footage of demonstrations in multiple cities in support of Gaza and against the potential displacement of its population.
These protests come in response to Sisi's warning that he could mobilize Egypt's population in support of the Palestinian cause, highlighting the rare nature of protests in Egypt due to strict restrictions since the 2013 military coup.
