Protests around the world condemn Israeli bombing of Gaza

4 Jan 2009, 1:51 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Israel's bombardment of Gaza has sparked protests around the world.

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Israel's bombardment of Gaza has sparked protests around the world.
           
In London thousands of people marched past British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Downing Street residence and hurled shoes at the gates, to express their anger at his refusal to condemn Israeli airstrikes that have killed hundreds of Palestinians.
           
Other demonstrations have been held in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Cyprus and the Netherlands.
           
France spearheaded alarmed reaction from European nations as Israeli tanks and troops pushed into the Gaza Strip, revealing a sharp difference in tone from the official line in Washington.
           
At least 460 Palestinians have been killed and thousands wounded in an eight-day bombing campaign, according to Gaza medics.
           
London protests
 
In London, many of the 12,000 protesters carried red, green, white and black Palestinian flags and some chanted "Israel terrorists" and "Free, free Palestine" as they filed along the River Thames towards Trafalgar Square.
      
Brown issued a statement saying he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to agree to an "immediate ceasefire", and foreign minister David Miliband repeated this call after Israeli tanks went in to Gaza later Saturday.
      
Attending the main march were veteran left-wing politician Tony Benn and former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox, who said that both the Palestinians and Israelis were "wrong" and a total ceasefire was the only option.
  
Lennox said the intervention from US President George W. Bush blaming Hamas for starting the violence would only inflame the situation.
  
"The problem is, from my perspective, they are pouring petrol onto the fire," she told the BBC.
  
"They have to sit down. This is a small window of opportunity just before things kick off.
  
"For every one person killed in Gaza, they are creating 100 suicide bombers. It's not just about Gaza, it's about all of us."
  
Reaction elsewhere
 
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the decision to send ground forces into Gaza after a week of air strikes was a "dangerous military escalation".
 
The EU's new Czech presidency said Israel did not have the right to take military actions "which largely affect civilians", though its launching of land operations in the Gaza Strip was no surprise.
           
But the US State Department said any Gaza ceasefire must not allow a return to the status quo.
           
"We are working toward a ceasefire that would not allow a reestablishment of the status quo ante, where Hamas can continue to launch rockets out of Gaza and to condemn the people of Gaza to a life of misery," said spokesman Sean McCormack.
           
President George W Bush was briefed on the latest developments and US officials were in regular contact with Israeli, regional and European leaders, the White House said.
           
Bush has said the Israeli strikes were in self-defence after Hamas let a six-month ceasefire lapse on December 19 and fired rockets at Israel, and accused Hamas of putting Palestinian lives at risk by hiding among them.
 
UN calls for ‘immediate end’
 
The United Nations Security Council - which has been criticised by Arab nations for failing to respond to Israel's military action - responded by calling a special meeting for late on Saturday.
           
UN chief Ban Ki-moon "called for an immediate end to the ground operation, and asked that Israel do all possible to ensure the protection of civilians and that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need", his office said in a statement.
           
The secretary general spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and "conveyed his extreme concern and disappointment", the statement said.
 
"He is convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations."
                       
Foreign ministers from the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference expressed disappointment at the UN Security Council's failure to act and "strongly condemned the brutal and sustained aggression" against the Palestinians.
           
In Cairo, the head of the Arab League, Amr Mussa, accused the UN Security Council of ignoring the situation in Gaza.
           
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Abul Gheit said Israel took the Security Council's failure to issue a resolution calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as a green light for invading Gaza.
 
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