Critical Times

THOUSANDS of people around the world bashed drums, brandished placards and chanted slogans today to demand an end to Israel’s offensive in Lebanon and Gaza.

The biggest rally took place in London, where thousands of demonstrators urged British Prime Minister Tony Blair to stop what they described as his support of the conflict and join international calls for an immediate ceasefire.
“Peace for Lebanon!” rang the chant as the march weaved its way through central London, past the US embassy and on to Hyde Park, watched all the way by the police.

“Stop the killing, stop to the bombs. Israel out of Lebanon,” shouted the peaceful protesters, many draped in Lebanese or Palestinian flags, while others yelled: “Hizbollah is here to stay. Zionism go away.”

Betty Hunter, general secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, one of the groups that organised the event, said it was vital to reject Israel’s two-pronged campaign against Hizbollah targets in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

“The main purpose of this demonstration is to say to Tony Blair and our Government that we are ashamed of the position they are taking, which is basically to collude with the war crimes of Israel,” she said.

Israel’s 11-day air offensive in Lebanon has left more than 350 Lebanese and 33 Israelis dead, while more than 100 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have died in Gaza.

The operation was sparked when the Shi’ite Muslim group Hizbollah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed eight on the Israeli-Lebanese border on July 12.

Disgust at the toll spurred people, young and old, some immigrants from the Middle East, others born and bred Britons, to join the rally in London.

Police put the number of participants at 6,000 to 7,000, while organisers said turnout was between 20,000 and 25,000.

In Sydney, a 10,000-strong crowd waved Australian and Lebanese flags and carried coffins and placards saying “No War” as they made their way through the city centre, escorted by about 400 police.

“They are murdering children and burying them under rubble,” a Lebanese-Australian woman, who gave her name only as Diana, told AAP.

Even in Tel Aviv, 1,000 Israeli Jews and Arabs turned out to denounce their country’s actions, gathering in Rabin Square and brandishing placards reading “war is disaster” and “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies.”

Israeli-Arab MP Mohammed Barrakeh said: “This war is a catastrophe. We can prevent this catastrophe through negotiations that would save the lives of Arabs and Israelis.”

Barrakeh said, however, that he saw little hope for the fighting stopping any time soon. “The war won’t end soon but we won’t stop protesting either,” he said.

Indeed, a recent opinion poll showed that a massive 95 per cent of Israelis support the military offensive and the popularity of Prime Minster Ehud Olmert has shot up since it began.

In Stockholm, where 2,000 marched to the Israeli embassy, several hundred protesters clashed with police, throwing stones and objects at police officers. Two people were arrested.

Other smaller demonstrations took place Geneva, Paris, Strasbourg (eastern France), Warsaw and a number of cities around Britain.

In the Swiss capital, 500 people marched in silence behind a coffin representing the death of the conscience of the UN.

“We have chosen a silent march to show that there is no word to qualify the unqualifiable,” said Anouar Gharbi, president of the Rights for All association that organised the protest.