Hundreds of Palestine supporters held a demonstration in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on Saturday, calling for sanctions against Israel. Among the banners held up by the demonstrators were "Freedom for Palestine," "Stop the Genocide," and "Impose Sanctions on Israel Immediately."
Protesters raised the Palestinian flag and held signs reading, "Killing children is not defense" and "Silence serves genocide." Activist Kanaan Shaat said in a speech during the demonstration, "Israel's use of starvation as a weapon in Gaza violates human rights."
Shaat emphasized the need to raise their voices on this issue, reminding everyone that the Israeli genocide has been ongoing for nearly two years. He emphasized that Austria bears responsibility in this regard, citing the Austrian company BRP Rotax, which supplies Israel with engines for drones.
For her part, activist Sally Attia asserted that remaining silent on the genocide taking place in Gaza amounts to complicity, noting that Austrian society must not remain silent on this issue, and that the Austrian government remains silent on the genocide in Gaza.
In a related development, demonstrators protested in front of the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in the French capital, Paris, against the Israeli occupation army's massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They gathered in a symbolic demonstration, waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs.
Protesters lay on the ground in protest of the civilians killed by the occupation forces in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, before rising and chanting, "Open the gates of Gaza."
In Sweden, hundreds of people demonstrated in the capital, Stockholm, against the plan approved by the Israeli government to gradually reoccupy the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds gathered at Odenplan Square in central Stockholm in response to calls from civil society organizations, demanding that Israel halt its plans to occupy Gaza and stressing the need to open humanitarian aid corridors to the Strip.
Editor's Picks
Ensuring aid access... the Irish president calls for the formation of a UN force in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll from the Israeli bombing in Sanaa rose to 6 dead and 86 injured.
Zamir calls on Netanyahu to accept the deal and warns of the dangers of the occupation of Gaza for Israeli prisoners.
The Gaza Conference in Istanbul affirms that supporting Palestine is a religious and humanitarian duty.
Protesters criticized the Swedish government's weak response to Israeli attacks and plans to occupy the Strip, and held up signs reading "Children are being killed in Gaza," "Schools and hospitals are being bombed," and "Stop the famine."
Protesters later marched from the square to the Swedish Foreign Ministry building, chanting "Freedom for Palestine" and "No to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's plan."
In a speech to the participants, Swedish activist of Azerbaijani origin, Aydin Amir Hashemi, said that Israel will inevitably be held accountable one day for the genocide it is committing in Gaza. He noted that Tel Aviv wields significant influence over Swedish politicians and called for an end to this practice.
On August 8, the Israeli government approved a plan proposed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a gradual occupation of the Gaza Strip. The plan, adopted by a majority vote, was described as the "five principles for ending the war." These principles include "disarming Hamas, returning all prisoners (living and dead), demilitarizing the Strip, establishing security control over it, and establishing an alternative civil administration independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority."
The plan begins with the occupation of Gaza City by displacing its population of approximately one million to the south, followed by the encirclement of the city and the implementation of incursions into residential areas. This will be followed by a second phase that includes the occupation of refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip, large parts of which have already been destroyed by Israel.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.
The Israeli genocide left 62,263 Palestinians dead, 157,365 injured, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that claimed the lives of 273 people, including 112 children.
