By Shahrokh Saei

Global protests grow against Israeli crimes following Haniyeh assassination

August 4, 2024 - 23:3

TEHRAN - Protests against Israel’s war on Gaza and the regime’s crimes have gained momentum following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

A growing number of people have taken to the streets in cities across the world to condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza over the past 300 days and Haniyeh’s killing. 

Thousands of Moroccans protested in Rabat on Saturday to express support for Palestinians as they were holding portraits of Haniyeh who was killed in an Israeli strike in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday. 

Demonstrators in Morocco also denounced normalization of ties between their country and Israel. 

Morocco established official ties with the regime as part of the US-led Abraham Accords.

Protesters in Paris showed solidarity with Palestinians during the Olympic cycling competition at the weekend. Elsewhere in Indonesia, thousands of demonstrators marched to the heavily guarded US embassy in the capital Jakarta on Saturday to protest the assassination of the Hamas political chief. 

They waved Indonesian and Palestinian flags while holding posters of Haniyeh alongside placards reading: "The blood of our leaders is not more valuable than the blood of Palestinian children."  

Police blocked off the embassy’s compound by concrete road separators and razor wire. More than 1,300 officers were deployed around the site. 

Demonstrators chanted pro-Palestine slogans calling for the liberation of the Palestinian land from the Israeli occupation.  

The protesters further condemned the US support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began on October 7 last year. 

South Koreans also staged a pro-Palestine rally at the weekend. Protesters in downtown Seoul slammed Haniyeh’s assassination as they called for ending the genocide in Gaza.  

The Turkish city of Istanbul also saw anti-Israel protests. The demonstrators condemned Haniyeh’s murder and Israel’s atrocities in Gaza. 

Similar protests were also held in Lebanon, Jordan and some other countries including the UK.

Tens of thousands of protesters in the British capital condemned their country’s support for Israel.  

Londoners demanded that the government stop arming the regime of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Holding banners, they chanted slogans such as "End the genocide," and "No Middle East war." 

Solidarity with Palestine at Paris Olympics 

Protesters in the French capital expressed solidarity with Palestinians during the Olympic Games on Saturday. 

As cyclists passed the 20th arrondissement of Paris, demonstrators displayed Palestinian flags and some wore keffiyehs, a well-known symbol of Palestinian nationalism.

Protesters wearing T-shirts in the colors of the Palestinian flag chanted: "Free Palestine."

Hundreds of demonstrators also gathered at the Place de la Nation calling for an end to the Gaza onslaught.  They held banners with pictures of Palestinian children killed in Israeli strikes. 

Israel has slaughtered about 39,600 Palestinians, including more than 16,000 children in Gaza during the nearly 10-month-long war. More than 91,000 Palestinians have also been wounded in the onslaught. 

Since the start of the war, protests have been held across the world in solidarity with Palestinians. 

But growing protests following the assassination of Haniyeh have clearly shown that sentiment against Israel’s brutalities is still on the rise.

Israel currently stands accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The International Criminal Court (ICC) has also requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his war minister Yoav Gallant over committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. 

The continuation of Israel’s atrocities amid the position of international organizations and global protests will definitely deepen the regime’s isolation and its main backer, the United States.