Thousands protest across Mideast against Gaza offensive

Thousands of protesters in several Muslim countries took to the streets on June 30 in response to the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. In Egypt, protesters rallied in one of the country's main mosques, with many calling on Arab governments to take action to protect the Palestinians. Hundreds of security forces in riot gear lined up alongside Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque during the protest, which followed weekly prayers. They made no attempt to crack down on the demonstration, however, as police commanders said they wanted to avoid a confrontation even though the protest was organized by one of the government's top rivals, the Muslim Brotherhood. "Rulers of Arab countries, start jihad [holy war]. Allah Akbar [God is great]," shouted a group of men in the mosque, while nearby several dozen women worshippers chanted, "Keep our country free and tell the [Israeli] ambassador to leave. We will not be afraid, we will not back down, we will not be silent." A three-yard-long banner was hung in the 1,000-year-old mosque, proclaiming, "With our blood we protect you, Al-Aqsa," referring to the Islamic shrine in Jerusalem. "Hamas, Palestine," the protesters chanted, "Palestinians, we are with you until to the last moment." The crowd remained largely inside the mosque's courtyard and did not attempt to march outside, where the large security force was gathered. In a sermon that day, Lebanon's most senior Shiite Muslim cleric denounced what he called "the war to annihilate the Palestinian people... by the malicious, racist Jewish army." Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told some 5,000 worshippers at a mosque in southern Beirut that Arabs and Muslims must support "the Palestinian people who are strongly standing fast against western racism that is backing Jewish racism." Some 100 Palestinians staged a sit-in outside the UN building in downtown Beirut to protest the Israeli incursion into Gaza and demanded world action to protect the Palestinians. In Jordan, some 400 Palestinian worshippers marched in the streets of Baqaa refugee camp on the outskirts of Amman. Both rallies ended peacefully. In Syria, some 500 Palestinians marched to the Yarmouk refugee camp after prayers in a Hamas-organized protest. "Resisting the Zionists is a national and religious duty," read one banner raised by the protesters as a Hamas member, speaking through a loudspeaker, called for more abductions of Israeli soldiers. His words were met by chants from the crowd: "We want to return to Palestine," and "the stone has turned into a Kalashnikov," in reference to the throwing of rocks at Israeli forces during the first intifada, Arabic for uprising, that began in 1987. Some 24 children clutching a 10-yard Palestinian flag headed the procession. "I'm here to protest the killing and destruction of the Palestinian people," said 32-year-old Maha Jamil. In Turkey, thousands of angry protesters burned Israeli flags and chanted pro-Hamas slogans. Hundreds of women, many wearing black chadors or Islamic-style head scarves, carried Palestinian flags and yelled, "Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine!" A man with a loud speaker warned Israel that it was turning Turkey's 70 million Muslims against it. "Inshallah [God willing], all of Turkey will show in coming days that it is behind Palestine!" he said. "Inshallah!" the crowd yelled back. As protesters streamed out of the Beyazid Mosque after prayers and began to fill the square, police said they estimated that 5,000 people had shown up. Later, they downgraded that estimate to 2,000. Young men wearing checkered kaffiyeh scarves wrapped around their faces chanted as they burned Israeli flags, and the entire crowd yelled "Greetings to Hamas, continue the resistance!" Police wearing riot gear surrounded the square, but there were no arrests and no violent incidents.