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TechnoratiAcross Mideast, Thousands Protest Israeli Assault
BEIRUT, Lebanon - Crowds of thousands swept into the streets of cities around the Middle East on Sunday to denounce Israel's air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
![[Lebanese protesters supporters of Hamas group, chant pro-Hamas slogans as they hold placards with Arabic reads:"Our souls, our blood we sacrifice for Gaza and its people," left, and "Oh our people in Gaza, you are honorable,", during a demonstration held by Islamic groups to protest Israel's attacks against the Gaza Strip, in front the United Nations house, in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on Sunday Dec. 28, 2008. About 1000 protesters Carrying Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as green banners representing the militant Hamas group, chanted anti-Israeli slogans and called for an end to Israel's attacks against Gaza. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/IsraelProtests1227.jpg "IsraelProtests1227.jpg")
From
Lebanon to Iran, Israel's adversaries used the weekend assault to
marshal crowds into the streets for noisy demonstrations. And among
regional allies there was also discontent: The prime minister of
Turkey, one of the few Muslim countries to have relations with Israel,
called the air assault a "crime against humanity."
Several of Sunday's protests turned violent. A crowd of anti-Israel protesters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul became a target for a suicide bomber on a bicycle.
In Lebanon, police fired tear gas to stop dozens of demonstrators from reaching the Egyptian Embassy. Some in the crowd hurled stones at the embassy compound. It was unclear if anyone was hurt.
Egypt, which has served as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians as well as between Hamas and its rival Fatah, has been criticized for joining Israel in closing its borders with Gaza. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Hamas to renew its truce with Israel: "There has been a calm and we should work to restore it."
France also called for the truce to be renewed and rallied European nations to use "all their weight" to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas.
"We have entered a new spiral of despair," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told the Journal du Dimanche in an interview published Sunday. "The truce must be restored."
Kouchner noted that the attacks come "in a context of vacancy of power in Israel and the U.S." as both countries are undergoing leadership transitions.
"Europe has a role to play," Kouchner said.
In Beirut, Hamas representative Osama Hamdan told the crowd that the militant group had no choice but to fight. Gaza militants have been lobbing dozens of rockets and mortars into southern Israel since a six-month truce expired over a week ago, prompting Israel's fierce retaliation.
"We have one alternative which is to be steadfast and resist and then we will be victorious," Hamdan said.
In the capital of neighboring Syria, more than 5,000 people marched toward the central Youssef al-Azmeh square, where they burned an Israeli and an American flag.
One demonstrator carried a banner reading, "The aggression against Gaza is an aggression against the whole Arab nation."
"Down with America, the mother of terrorism," read another.
In Amman, Jordan, about 5,000 lawyers marched toward parliament to demand the Israeli ambassador's expulsion and the closure of the embassy. "No for peace, yes to the rifle," they chanted.
In Jordan's squalid Baqaa camp for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, protester Yassin Abu Taha, 32, blamed America and Israel for the Middle East's problems.
"The Israelis kill our people in Gaza and the West Bank. The Americans kill our people in Iraq. We're refugees, kicked out of our home in Tulkarem in 1967 and we're still displaced," he said, bemoaning his family's flight in the 1967 Mideast war.
The U.S. Embassy in Jordan warned Americans to avoid areas of demonstrations.
Thousands of Egyptians - many of them students - demonstrated at campuses in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere and accused President Hosni Mubarak and other Arab leaders of not doing enough to support the Palestinians.
Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said Israel should be "wiped off the map," denounced the Israeli strikes.
And in the normally politically placid streets of glitzy Dubai, hundreds of demonstrators - some draped in Palestinian flags - gathered at the Palestinian consulate.
"This is a time for the Palestinians and Arabs to unite to fight against a common enemy," said Majdei Mansour, a 30-year-old Palestinian resident of Dubai. Mansour said he has been unable to contact his family in Gaza since the latest fighting.
In Iraq, where the government has also condemned the Gaza airstrikes, a suicide bomber on a bicycle blew himself up amid a crowd of about 1,300 demonstrators in Mosul who were protesting against Israel, killing one demonstrator and wounding 16, Iraqi police said.
There was no claim of responsibility for the attack on the demonstration, which was organized by a Sunni party in sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza, who are largely fellow Sunnis.
Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria; Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, and Hamid Ahmed in Baghdad contributed to this report.
22 Comments so far
Show AllThe regimes in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt should all be brought down for giving Israel the green light to go into Gaza. If there is anything worse than Zionists, it's their Arab enablers.
"Across Mideast, Thousands Protest Israeli Assault" is the title of this AP article. Following is a post in which I included links to a few or several articles about protests in the Middle East, plenty of countries there having protests, including one country that had a demonstration of or by one million protesters. And just above the following post is another post of mine, this other one for Iranian Jews protesting these extreme crimes of Israel.
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/29-8#comment-1101893
I'd include the specific url for the post above this above one, but it's the same page, so it'll be easier to simply scroll up one post.
Wang,
All very interesting, even if it is somewhat old news. In addition, it IS changing the subject. Since an effete and worthless congress isn't about to bring him to justice no point is served other than to derail a worthwhile conversation.
Gaza is undergoing a Holocaust at your tax paid expense. I'm more interested in using this comment board to exchange ideas with others about what can be done to help stop the carnage (eg: letters to editors, congressman, Israeli government officials etc.; boycott initiatives that can be undertaken locally, etc., etc.).
Weatherly
Some names to add to your list:
Charles Riechers, alleged suicide (No note, no reason)....procurement officer illegally hired by Department of Defense paid by funds from Commonwealth Research Institute (A British Group) and linked to the atomic weapons moved from Minot AFB to Barksdale AFB (Research B52 with atomic weapons)
Jonathan Luna, unsolved murder, Assisstant U.S. Attorney investigating Palfrey Prostitution Ring.
Brandy Britton, alleged suicide, allegedly hung herself, no note and to be found by daughter and grandchild.....her fine would have been $5,000....no reason for suicide, possible Luna witness.
Pamela Palfrey, alleged suicide, allegedly hung herself, no note and had promised to get those bast_ _ _s.
Bruce Ivins, devout catholic, alleged suicide, no note and was being made "FBI Patsy" for the anthrax attacks of 2001....(Research mysterious deaths of microbiologists related to anthrax)
William Cooper, predicted, on radio, June 28th that Osama Bin Laden would be blamed for an attack on the United States and ridiculed the CIA because a CNN reporter had an interview with Bin Laden yet the CIA claimed they could not find him. William Cooper killed by police who claimed he shot at a policeman....Who issued the warrant for his arrest and why so many sent to capture a non violent man? Never an investigation.
The list could go on and on: from eyewitnesses to the explosions in World Trade Center #7 to eyewitnesses who informed the CIA about two of the Saudi hijackers, from the women involved in the D.C. Prostitution Case to Whistleblowers, and from microbiologists to airmen related to the movement of tha B52, they all have mysterious deaths and suicides.
When the "Corporate/Political Elite" feel threatened, they do away with the threat. Sydney Gottlieb was known as "Doctor Death" while working for the CIA....his job was to find ways to kill people.(Frattini's, "CIA: Las Joyas De La Familia") Since 1986 and the Iran Contra hearings, The CIA went "Off Book" and those "Off-Book" companies have sponsored more "False Flag Events" than any nation.
Palisraelistine - the one state solution. Salaam/Shalom!!
"WAR IS OVER if you want it"
-John Lennon
WE ARE NOT ALONE
We, Palestinians, are not alone
The best of humanity is on our side
Mighty truth… Gracious morality is on our side
Justice, dignity, human values, radiant hope are on our side
Soil, sand, and stones
Trees, poppies, lemon zest, and morning mist
Jerusalem sunshine and Jenin’s moonlight
Haifa’s Carmel and Jaffa’s shoreline
Are all on our side
We stand firm
As the stick of Moses
Splitting good and evil
Refusing to bow down
Our tragedy is a sieve
Filtering the wicked away
We all live a fleeting moment and soon die…
Better to die standing on our feet
Than to live crawling on our knees
Better to live with a wounded body
And a soul whole
Than to live and die
Inflated by arrogance
Bent by corruption
Twisted by greed
weighed down by oppression
Lusting after power
With a disfigured soul
.
I live in San Francisco and noticed some very strange new ads from the Isreali Government. These are ads for travel to Isreal. The picture depicts a group of European looking women happily and confidently walking down the street . The captioned read "not like the Isreal you see on the news." The location of the ads is at a bus stop in an inner city area (ghetto) making it even stranger.
I wonder what a Palestinian Women's version would look like with the same caption?
It is very erie to see this propoganda , far away both in distance and from the truth.
Go to http://electronicIntifada.net and www.palestinechronicle.com for the most up to date coverage of this.
I also recommend going to http://english.aljazeera.net/ and watching the free news coverage there.
Solidarity with the Palestinians.
I see the Associated Press is repeating a lie...
"Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said Israel should be "wiped off the map," denounced the Israeli strikes."
I didn't think this would show up on CD.
not a lie but a mistranslation that can be viewed as a lie. I agree with you, this should not be publish any more. As for Israel, this also is a mistranslation, I wonder what people in Isreal think of all that? like the american during the invasion of Iraq, I am sure a good amount of them don't support their goverment. Or I hope.
AldoinSF
Why is this author spewing the bullshit lies attributed to the president of Iran? The quote attributed to him is a fabrication. It is a well known well documented fabrication why is it being repeated here?
Down with dis-information.
Justice for Palestine, end the zionist holocaust.
Sophie Scholl-The Final Days
Once again the Iranian president is quoted as saying Israel should be wiped off the map, not the zionist regime should be wiped form the pages of Time.
Nice job AP.
Although I love this BBC contradiction today:
As jets pounded the southern Gaza Strip hundreds of Palestinians stormed over a fence on the Gaza-Egypt border, but Egyptian security forces prevented them entering the country.
but then it says:
The Egyptian foreign minister has accused Hamas of not allowing injured Palestinians to leave Gaza to seek treatment, even though much-needed medical supplies are waiting at the nearby El-Arish airport.
**huh?
Anyway
shame on the arabs for not thinking about the 1 Israeli killed.
I mean, you got to have balance!
Regarding the quote from Ahmadinejad, I think there is a controversy over what he said. The highly esteemed scholar, Juan Cole, has provided the same translation you have. But almost everyone else, including Obama, uses the same quote as AP.
However, all of this is beside the point. Whichever quote you use the meaning is the same. He wants to destroy Israel. Zionism is Israel. Israel is Zionism. To destroy Zionism is to destroy Israel. And the world cannot let that come to pass.
Let's not forget, Ahmadinejad denied the Holocaust ever happened.
Are you sure the holocaust happend? were you there to count the dead? I feel the same sometimes, I would wipe out a country for being so arogant toward his neighbor and would have coments as bad as this one, wipe them out! They have no right to be there period. get out!!!
AldoinSF
Ask IBM, they have the computer records of it (or at least as close as Germany had to computers back then).
See the Alternative Information Center, Jerusalem website, www.alternativenews.org There are up to date articles. I just heard Michael (Mikado) Warschawski on "Beyond the Pale", the radio show on WBAI sponsored by Jews For Racial and Economic Justice JFREJ in NYC, calling from Jerusalem. www.wbai.org (archived for 90 days,free)
The Israelis are applying the Nazi`s dictum of collective punishment. A hundred Palestinians for every Israeli. We should have realized long ago that the cycle of abuse and murder has continued with a vengeance all these many years.
Unfortunately for the Palestinians, the Israelis also have the most powerful, vocal, and energetic propaganda machine ever assembled. Their talking heads and propagandists are everywhere in the Western media making the case for Israel`s assault even when Gaza has been under blockade for weeks (shades of the Eastern European Ghettos) that has left it starving and desperate. They have thrown out UN observers and made sure the media was kept out of Gaza to cover the carnage. They even bought the services of the Fatah and the Egyptians who should be understood by all as criminal collaborators in this shameful act.
Not just in the media either. Anyone notice all the new posters HERE who post in no other items other than ones regarding Israel's atrocities, with scripted talking points? Google megaphone software and think what it means when they send people to pile on progressive web sites.
I remember during the election, half of the Nader fans posted the same stuff over and over too.
Yes but they were real CDers who were here for the long haul and who posted on many subjects. If by some miracle the bombardment of Palestine should stop tomorrow ALL the new Zionist shills will disappear, count on it they are sock puppets plain and simple and NOT people interested in the subject of this web site progressive activism.
As much as I despise for example Jake Newton at least he is here to debate ALL progressive politics the Zionist shills aren't even that good. :( The Zionists are here for ONE reason only to run psy-ops on progressive activists to enrage us and get us to say anti Semitic things to make us look bad. And yes this IS a pattern I have run into similar rat packs of Zionist shills on digg.com for example. Don't fall for it as I alas somewhat already have. And yes it IS hard hen they call you names and try justify blatant MURDER of hundreds of people. They are enraging, don't fall for the bait which yes is a message to myself first and foremost.
Arab plutocrats will have to bend to the will of their countrymen seeking revenge, like the Saudi's did with the 9/11 perps, or face their wrath. This time it could come in the form of mushroom clouds and a WWIII. Zionists, Xtians, theocrats, war profiteers and other conservatives everywhere are playing Russian Roulette with our lives.
Now do we understand why Jesus the bleeding heart liberal hippie said things like "Turn the other cheek", "Whatsoever you do to the least of us, you do to me", "Love thy neighbor as thyself", etc.?
On the other hand, nature is simply taking its course and balancing our numbers. Humans have become a plague on the earth.