VARIOUS: Egyptians in Cairo and Hezbollah supporters in Beirut condemn Israeli military operation in Gaza

Record ID: 1377052

  • Title: VARIOUS: Egyptians in Cairo and Hezbollah supporters in Beirut condemn Israeli military operation in Gaza
  • Date: 30th December 2008
  • Summary: CLOSEUP OF SMALL BOY BEING HELD BY HIS MOTHER WITH RIOT POLICE IN FOREGROUND
  • Embargoed: 14th January 2009 11:25
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVABDPUEAXA1UXWPW3XR6H58YK49
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Egyptians staged their largest demonstration yet, on Monday (December 29), against Israel's offensive on Gaza, with several thousands people protesting outside the journalists syndicate in downtown Cairo.
    Protesters shouted slogans in support of Gaza Palestinians and condemning Arab governments, including Egypt's as lines of riot police penned them in on sidewalk and on the steps of the Syndicate.
    The crowd, which included Islamists, leftists and Arab nationalists, called on the Egyptian government to open the Rafah crossing and stop collaborating with Israel in the blockade of the impoverished coastal strip and 1.5 million inhabitants.
    There is seething anger in Egypt over what many perceive as the governments complicity in Israel's attacks on Gaza which have killed over 300 people in three days.
    Israel's Foreign Minister visited Cairo shortly before the attacks and the cordial reception she was given, as well as the Egyptian government's failure to forcefully object to military action has caused both domestic and regional uproar.
    One opposition MP at today's demonstration said all Arab governments were failing Gaza.

    "We should all line up today in the Arab and Islamic world in order to say to our rulers that they have to pay attention and they have to respond in full, and if they fail they should leave office so that we can choose that rulers that are able to develop weapons with which we can protect ourselves," said Saad Aboud.
    Meanwhile tens of thousands of Lebanese converged on Beirut's southern suburbs on Monday (December 29) heeding calls by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah to show condemnation for Israeli military attacks on Gaza that have killed more than 300 people in three days of fighting.
    There have been several protests in Beirut and across Lebanon since the Israeli attacks began on Saturday, but this rally has been the biggest so far.
    Lebanon is home to some 400,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps across the country. The attacks on Gaza have angered many Lebanon and Palestinians who tried on Sunday to storm into the Egyptian embassy.
    The Hezbollah leader attacked Egypt over its role in Gaza and warned its government to open its border with the strip for food and medical supplies, and even weapons, or face the wrath of the Egyptian people.
    Nasrallah called for another Intifada, Arabic for uprising, to take place in Palestinian Territories and elsewhere in the Arab world to help safeguard Palestinian existence.

    "What is being targeted in Gaza is the remains of the resistance, the remains of the Palestinian will, the remains of a commitment to Palestinian rights. That is why I join all the Palestinian leaders who have called for a third Intifada in Palestine, and for uprisings across the Arab and Islamic worlds. Because what we, as a nation (an umma), are facing in Gaza today, is an existential battle for Palestine, not a battle for the survival of the Hamas government,'' he told supporters.
    Supporters cheered for Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and occasionally chanted ''Death to America, Death to Israel.''
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