Protesters worldwide – from Washington and London to Istanbul and as far away as Sydney – turned up in their thousands over the weekend to demonstrate against the brutal Israeli crackdown on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
While pro-Palestinian demonstrators have held massive rallies in Muslim-majority countries, more and more nations across the Western world have clamped down on such protests under the pretext they could "disturb public order."
Thousands of Australians ignored police threats Sunday to join pro-Palestinian rallies, where they waved Palestine flags and chanted "Free, free Palestine."
Hundreds of police patrolled the area around one of the largest rallies in Sydney, capital of Australia's most populous state of New South Wales.
A police helicopter circled low over the event in the city's Hyde Park. About 5,000 people attended, said the organizers, the Palestine Action Group, while a Reuters witness put the number at about 2,000.
The rally was "peaceful so far," said a group spokesperson, Amal Naser, adding that police had not deployed special powers to stop and search protesters, a move they had considered for the first time in almost two decades.
Ayah, a Palestinian living in Sydney, said she was at the rally to "be peaceful, to support my country, nothing to do with burning flags."
Another protester, Mustafa, whose father left Gaza in 1976, attended with his three children.
"We are not against Jewish people," he said. "They have been in Palestine for a long time, side by side with the Muslims and the Christians, we are all Palestinians. We are against the Zionists."
Rally organizers said they planned to march through central Sydney next weekend.
Thousands also protested at pro-Palestine rallies in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and in the Victorian state capital of Melbourne, said the Guardian Australia news site.
'End the occupation'
Thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in the U.S. capital on Saturday, marching past the White House to chants of "Free Palestine."
"What is happening today is just beyond the pale. It's so upsetting, we are watching people being killed by an army that this country supports," demonstrator Linda Houghton told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip, in response to a surprise Hamas incursion last Saturday, has so far claimed nearly 2,400 mostly civilian lives in Gaza.
Israel has also cut off food, water and electricity supplies to Gaza's 2.4 million people.
"I wish we could all do something, I wish we could stop the war, just stop the war," said Ahmed Abed, one of the protesters marching through downtown Washington under a sea of Palestinian flags.
"They are in prison," he said of the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Signs carried by marchers included messages such as "End the occupation" and "Cease-fire now."
In New York, home to the world's largest Jewish population outside of Israel, hundreds gathered in Brooklyn on Friday wielding a banner emblazoned with the message "Jews Say Stop Genocide Against Palestinians."
Jewish New Yorkers have been split, with some voices urging Israel to defend itself and others increasingly warning of "Palestinian genocide."
On the other side of the country, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Los Angeles on Saturday, local media reported.
Thousands march in London
Thousands of protesters also held a huge rally in London on central Portland Place on Saturday. They shouted "Free Palestine" and demanded an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes and blockade on Gaza.
Organized by several groups, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the demonstration took place under intense police presence with over 1,000 officers deployed to ensure safety and orderly conduct of the rally.
The crowd later marched toward the prime minister's office on Downing Street as they decried the U.K. government's support for Israel.
They chanted slogans against Israeli occupation, carried Palestinian flags and signs, with some of them reading: "Freedom for Palestine," "Sanctions on Israel," and "Stop Arming Israel."
Addressing the crowd, Palestinian ambassador to the U.K. Husam Zomlot said the Palestinian flag has become a global symbol for the struggle of rights.
Mentioning that the real casualty in Gaza is much higher, he added: "Israel is indiscriminately bombing civilian infrastructure, houses, hospitals, schools, entire neighborhoods."
Referring to Friday's attack by Israel that killed more than 70 Palestinians, he said this is "a war crime."
"Israel has cut food, water, electricity, fuel supply to residents in Gaza, 2.3 million Palestinian residents in Gaza, this is a war crime."
'War crime'
Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said it is right to condemn the killings the targeting of civilians which is "war crime within international law."
"But it is also right to condemn the continuing occupation of Palestine by Israel," he said.
He went on to say that the occupation of the West Bank and the settlements also has to be condemned and opposed.
"Our demand is to end the occupation is to end the bombardment on Gaza," stated Corbyn, adding that cutting of electricity, water, and food is "also a war crime."
Kate Hudson, the head of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, noting the forcing of residents in Gaza to move south, she said Israel attacked the routes and killed hundreds of people.
What's happening in Gaza is "collective punishment and a war crime," added Hudson.
'We need justice'
Maggie Dunn, a protester, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that what is happening in Gaza left them "absolutely heart-broken."
"I absolutely, totally condemn what Israel is doing, (it) is just genocide," she said.
On the Israeli siege of Gaza with electricity and water cut off, Dunn said that this is a total punishment for 2.2 million people "who have nothing to do with Hamas."
That is why, she said, they gathered on the streets today to support Palestine as civilians in Gaza have no medicine, food and power.
Criticizing the British government's stance, Dunn said it does not speak for her and tens of thousands of people who gathered today.
Also speaking to AA, another Palestinian supporter Ayman al-Halabi criticized the international media for its over coverage of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He said Western media turned a blind eye to people in Gaza.
"We need justice, which is seems far away," he said, citing the 75-year suffering of Palestinians.
Following the gathering on Downing Street, some protesters marched toward the Israeli Embassy, which had been cordoned off by police.
Another group held a protest in famous Trafalgar Square in central London, where a skirmish occurred between the crowd and police following the arrest of protesters.
The Metropolitan Police said late Friday that a 15 people were arrested related to protest.
"Following the seven arrests during today's protest, this evening saw a further eight arrests for offences including assaults on emergency workers, setting off fireworks in a public place and public order," it said.
Protests across Mid-East
Earlier Friday, thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of several Middle East capitals in support of Palestinians.
"No to the occupation! No to America!" chanted demonstrators gathered in central Baghdad after Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr called for a protest "in support of Gaza" and against Israel.
In Egypt, videos on social media showed hundreds of protesters near Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque chanting in solidarity with Gaza.
"Arab and Muslim countries have the duty and the responsibility to provide urgent humanitarian aid and help to the Palestinians of Gaza", the university of Al-Azhar, the highest institution in Sunni Islam, said in a statement.
Anti-Israel protests were also held in Iran on Friday.
In the capital Tehran, demonstrators waved Iranian, Palestinian, and Lebanese Hezbollah flags and held banners reading "Down with America" and "Down with Israel," an AFP journalist said.
Similar gatherings took place in other cities across Iran, where American and Israeli flags were burned.
In Jordan, which has long had a peace treaty with neighboring Israel, more than 20,000 people gathered in central Amman, near the Grand Husseini Mosque.
Masses of demonstrators filled the streets, waving Palestinian flags and chanting "the people want the liberation of Palestine."
One demonstrator exclaimed "it is (Palestinians') right to defend their land and people."
He added that "we reject America's bias" toward Israel.
Hundreds protested in other Jordanian cities.
In the Gulf state of Bahrain, hundreds of worshippers chanted "Death to Israel!" and "Death to America!" ahead of Friday prayers at Diraz mosque.
They then joined a protest march, some of them waving Palestinian flags and others stamping on Israeli and U.S. emblems that were laid on the ground.
In Lebanon, supporters of Iran-backed Hezbollah rallied in the southern suburbs of Beirut in support of the Palestinians.
In Algiers, around 1,000 people went into the street to show solidarity with Palestinians.
In France, where President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday called on Israel to deal a "strong" but "just" response to the Hamas attack, the government issued a ban on "pro-Palestinian demonstrations because they are likely to generate disturbances to public order."
Asia rages
Former prime ministers joined pro-Palestinian solidarity rallies across Asia on Friday as the besieged Gaza Strip continues facing intense Israeli bombardment.
Mahathir Mohamad and Muhyiddin Yassin, two former prime ministers of Malaysia, led demonstrations in the capital Kuala Lumpur and condemned Israeli attacks.
In neighboring Indonesia, special prayers in mosques and rallies were held in the capital Jakarta and other parts of the country by several religious and political groups to show solidarity with Palestinians.
In Pakistan, political parties Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, along with other smaller groups, held rallies across the country in protest of Israel following congregational Friday prayers.
Protesters carried banners and placards and chanted slogans in support of the Palestinians and against Israel and the U.S.
In Bangladesh, thousands marched on the streets in the capital Dhaka after the Friday prayer and held protests against Israeli brutality on innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Leaders at the rallies called for a boycott of Israeli products. They also criticized the U.S. and its allies for backing Israeli attacks against Palestinians.
In Hyderabad, the capital city of India's southern Telangana state, local police detained a group of people who had gathered to express solidarity with Palestine.
The protesters, belonging to student organizations, chanted slogans against Tel Aviv. Local media quoted police officials as saying that the they had not gotten a permit to stage the protest.
In Afghanistan, large rallies were held across several provinces, including the capital Kabul, where protesters condemned Israeli attacks and urged Muslim leaders to raise their voice and protect Palestinians.
A demonstration was held in the Budgam area of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, where anti-state protests had nearly dried up after 2019, when the Indian government scrapped the region's autonomy.
More than 200 protesters prayed for the safety of Gazans and shouted anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans.
In the regional capital Srinagar, authorities closed the main Jamia Masjid to the congregational prayer on Friday.
'Great Palestine March'
Istanbul witnessed Saturday the "Great Palestine March," organized by the National Will Platform, as thousands of protesters took to the streets of Türkiye's largest metropolis.
Thousands gathered in the city's famous Beyazit Square from the districts of Fatih, Eminönü and Aksaray holding Palestinian flags, with significant participation from women and children.
Demonstrators carried banners and placards in support of Palestine, in addition to the Turkish and Palestinian flags.
Groups gathered in the square and chanted slogans in favor of Palestine and expressed their discontent through slogans against Israel.
Local and foreign tourists also supported the march.
The protesters reached performed the evening prayer at the Hagia Sophia Mosque and the adjacent square. They prayed for the safety of the Palestinians and an end to the Israeli oppression.
There were also huge rallies and mass prayers held in major Turkish cities, including the capital Ankara and central Anatolia's Konya, as well as in southeastern cities of Şanlıurfa, Adana and Diyarbakır on Friday and over the weekend.