Pro-Palestinian protest attracts thousands in Belfast city centre
- Published
Demonstrators gathered at Writers Square before marching along Royal Avenue to Belfast City Hall.
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors have attended a rally in Belfast.
Demonstrators gathered at Writers Square on Sunday before marching along Royal Avenue to Belfast City Hall. There were a series of speeches at the event, which lasted about two hours.
Similar protests have taken place across the UK over the weekend, including in London, Glasgow, and Manchester.
About 100 people also attended a vigil in Belfast in support of Israel.
The protests come a week after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel.
Fighters from the the Palestinian militant group entered communities near the Gaza Strip, killing at least 1,300 people.
About 2,300 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel's retaliatory air strikes and a ground offensive on the region is also expected.
About 1.1 million people in the north of Gaza have been told by Israel's military to move to the south, with Israel saying it will allow a safe route for a limited time.
But the World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised the order to move hospital patients from the north, saying it is tantamount to a death sentence.
Assembly members Pat Sheehan, of Sinn Féin, and Gerry Caroll, from People Before Profit, were among those to address the crowd.
Also present at the event were representatives from the Northern Ireland Council for Racial Equality, ICTU, Unison and the Jews for Palestine group.
Some minor scuffles broke out when the march arrived at Belfast City Hall as protestors were met with a small number of pro-Israel supporters.
'Worried for my family'
Saeb Shaath's family are in Gaza and have been denied access to water, electricity and fuel, he said.
"We lost a lot of people, I lost four from my own family," he said.
"We thank the people in Belfast here to show their support, but at the same time we feel dismayed by western leaders.
"This is a war crime what's happening in Gaza, a war crime supported by some British politicians and American politicians."
'Deeply concerned'
Tánaiste (Irish deputy prime minister) Micheál Martin has said that he is "deeply concerned" at the situation in Israel and Gaza.
"The decision by the Israeli military to tell the entire civilian population in the north of the Gaza strip to move southward for their own safety is deeply dangerous and impossible to implement," Mr Martin said.
"There is no doubt about the brutal criminality of Hamas and their utter disregard for human life, including the lives of their fellow Palestinians, but we absolutely must distinguish between Hamas and Palestinian civilians in Gaza."
Mr Martin said that Israel "has a right to defend itself from attack" but it must do so "within the parameters of international humanitarian law".
During a meeting in Paris on Sunday evening, the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed cooperation on evacuating citizens from Gaza as it faces the threat of a ground invasion by Israeli forces.
Mr Varadkar said that there are about 40 Irish citizens in Gaza who are UN aid workers or dual citizens and arrangements are being made to evacuate them if they want to leave.
Irish-Israeli woman, Kim Damti, was killed in last weekend's Hamas attack at a music festival. The 22-year-old was last seen at the Supernova music festival in Re'im in southern Israel last Saturday.
Meanwhile, Tom Hand, who is originally from Dublin, said that his eight-year-old daughter, Emily, had been killed in Hamas' attack on the Kibbutz Be'eri last Saturday. He told broadcaster, CNN, that his daughter had gone to stay at her friend's house in the kibbutz near Gaza last Friday night, and it was two days before he found out that she was dead.
The DUP's Peter Weir addressed the vigil for Israel in Belfast
At Sunday's vigil for Israel, which was also held at the gates of Belfast City Hall, organiser and director of March of Life UK Mike McNally said that the event was an opportunity to "pray for Israel, and for all the innocent lives that have been lost".
He said that it was important to "stand with our Jewish community here", many of whom he said were fearful of anti-Semitic attacks following recent events.
Mr McNally said that the conflict is "very sad" and his hope is that "less life is lost" over the coming weeks.
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