International Reaction To The Gaza War - Civilian Demonstrations and Protests

Civilian Demonstrations and Protests

Major protests against Israel were held worldwide. Protesters in London, Paris, Oslo, and other cities clashed with the police. Throughout the West Bank, daily demonstrations were held against the Israeli attacks. Some demonstrations developed to "violent" clashes between stone throwers and Israeli security forces. At least two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank during protests against the offensive on Gaza: On January 4, a man among a crowd in Qalqilya who clashed with Israeli forces was shot dead, while on January 16, a teenager died after being shot in the head during a demonstration in Hebron. The Palestinian Center For Human Rights (PCHR) reported that between January 15 and January 21, 36 others, including 16 children, were wounded by Israeli forces in the West Bank in various protests against the offensive. There were global isolated attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets,. Over 300 Israeli websites were hacked and defaced with anti-Israeli and anti-US messages during the first days of the conflict. In France, anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attacks spiked after December 27. and similar increase in attacks happened in the United Kingdom and Sweden.

On January 10, a new wave of protests were held in Europe. In London, an estimated 100,000 people protested against the Israeli attacks. Further protests were held across Europe. Nearly 10,000 gathered in New York City on January 11 to support Israel. In the United States, a McClatchy / Ipsos poll showed that 44% of the general public favored the Israeli operation, while a CNN poll showed that 63% thought Israeli military operation was justified. CNN also reported that 75% of Republicans and 52% of Democrats held this view, though Newsweek found 55% of Republicans and 45% of Democrats approved of Israeli actions. In the Jewish community, the ADL showed that 79% felt the Israeli response was appropriate.

Many demonstrations against the strikes occurred in cities around the world, and in Israel protests both for and against the strikes were held. In Egypt, the protests caused the government to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow the delivery of food and medicine to the Gaza Strip.

The largest protest, of up to a million people, was held at a government organised event in Damascus on January 7. On December the 10th, a new wave of protests were held in Europe. In London, 50,000 people marched to the Israeli embassy - the largest ever pro-Palestinian demonstration in the UK. In Paris 30,000 people marched with banners reading 'We are all children of Gaza'. Further protests were held across Europe.

The Israeli peace movement Gush Shalom condemned the war; they marched in Tel-Aviv in a massive demonstration.