From Iraq to Egypt, passing through Lebanon, Jordan and Iran, thousands of people this Friday (13) demonstrated in several countries in the Middle East in support of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, which was bombed by Israel six days ago. in response to the offensive of the Islamist Hamas movement on its territory.

A photo taken in the Israeli city of Ashkelon shows smoke rising from the Gaza Strip this Friday – Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP/ND

“No occupation! No to the United States! shouted protesters in the center of Baghdad, the Iraqi capital, after Shiite leader Muqtada Sadr called for a protest “in support of Gaza” and against Israel, an AFP journalist said.

“This demonstration is to condemn what is happening in occupied Palestine, the bloodshed and the violation of rights,” said Abu Kayan, one of the protest organizers.

The besieged Gaza Strip, ruled by Hamas since 2007, has been the target of daily bombing since last Saturday when Islamist militants crossed into Israel from the enclave and killed more than 1,300 people, most of them civilians.

Israeli bombing has so far killed more than 1,799 people in the impoverished 362 km² enclave, home to more than two million people and which has been under an Israeli blockade by land, sea and air since 2007.

In Egypt, videos posted on social media showed hundreds of protesters chanting slogans in solidarity with the Gaza Strip outside the Al-Azhar mosque in Cairo.

“Arab and Muslim countries have an obligation and responsibility to provide urgent humanitarian assistance and assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” Al-Azhar University, the largest institution of Sunni Islam, said in a statement.

Burnt flags

Protests against Israel were also recorded in Iran, whose population is not Arab, but Muslim, with a Shiite majority. The Islamic Republic, declared an enemy of Israel, supports Hamas militarily and financially.

A cloud of smoke in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli attack – Photo: Mahmoud Hams/AFP/ND

In the capital Tehran, protesters waved the flags of their country, the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and Palestinian flags. Posters with the words “Down with the USA” and “Down with Israel” were found by an AFP journalist.

Similar protests were recorded in other cities, where American and Israeli flags were also burned.

In Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with its neighbor Israel in 1994, more than 20,000 people gathered in central Amman near the Al-Hussein Grand Mosque after the Muslim Brotherhood called for a protest, as well as several left-wing groups in the country .

“The people want the liberation of Palestine,” echoed the protesters who took to the streets with Palestinian flags.

“It’s right [dos palestinos] defend your land and your people,” one participant shouted. “We reject the bias of the United States” in favor of Israel, he added. Hundreds of others demonstrated in several cities across the country.

In the Gulf country of Bahrain, hundreds of worshipers chanted “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” before Friday prayers at the Diraz mosque. Protests also took place in Qatar.

“Let’s talk about Palestine!”

In Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, a country where protests are banned, an AFP journalist saw a police officer handcuff a worshiper who had interrupted Friday prayers to shout to the imam: “Talk about Palestine! Gaza is under bombing!”

In Lebanon, which borders Israel, supporters of Hezbollah, the Shiite movement backed by Iran, gathered in Beirut’s southern neighborhoods to show support for the Palestinians.

The movement’s deputy secretary general, Naim Kassem, said Hezbollah is “ready” to support Hamas and intervene against Israel.

In Yemen, protests were organized in major cities including Sanaa, controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

In Algeria, about 2,000 people took to the streets in solidarity with the Palestinians. In Tunisia, demonstrations attracted about 1,000 people.