Tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities around the world over the weekend calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon as the war in the Palestinian territory neared the one-year mark.In Washington, a man set himself on fire as more than 1,000 people demonstrated outside the White House demanding an end to US military aid to Israel, AFP journalists said.In Morocco Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the capital, Rabat, waving Palestinian flags and calling to break off diplomatic ties with Israel, which the kingdom normalised in 2020.”Resistance does not die” and “The people want an end to normalisation”, they chanted outside parliament.”We consider Palestine to be a national cause,” Khadija Mokhtari, a 56-year-old retiree taking part in the protest, told AFP.She attended to protest the “flagrant injustice, Israeli killings and the genocide” against Palestinians, she added.Thousands also marched in support of Gaza and Lebanon in cities across Turkey, including Isanbul and Ankara.In Ramallah, in the West Bank Sunday, protesters carried a banner showing photos of Palestinian journalists slain while covering the conflict.In Saturday’s Washington protest, a man set his left arm ablaze before bystanders and police extinguished the flames.Thousands also marched through New York’s Times Square Saturday, some carrying pictures of people killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.- Scuffles in Rome -Clashes broke out at a pro-Palestinian protest in Rome that drew thousands Saturday. Dozens of young demonstrators threw bottles and firecrackers at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon.At least one policeman was injured and two protesters detained, AFP journalists said.In Berlin, just over 1,000 protesters joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration Saturday, many wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional scarf symbolising the Palestinian struggle against Israel.Demonstrators chanted “Gaza, you are not alone” and carried signs that read “Nothing justifies genocide” and “Free Gaza”.At Saturday’s “National March for Palestine” in London, chants of “stop bombing civilians” were joined by shouts of “hands off Lebanon”.The march was largely peaceful, but least 15 people were arrested.In Dublin, several hundred people took to the streets, waving Palestinian flags and chanting: “Ceasefire now!”.In France, thousands of people marched in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse and other cities in solidarity with Palestinians.A pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Swiss city of Basel drew several thousand people, the Keystone-ATS news agency reported.Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators also marched on the Israeli embassy in Athens, which was heavily guarded by riot police.- Pope calls for ceasefire -In Cape Town in South Africa, hundreds walked to parliament, chanting: “Israel is a racist state” and “We are all Palestinian.”In Caracas, hundreds of supporters of President Nicolas Maduro’s government held a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the UN’s offices in Venezuela, carrying a giant Palestinian flag.In Indonesia, more than 1,000 people protested outside the US embassy in Jakarta, calling on their government to refuse to normalise relations with Israel.In Australia, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters thronged the streets of Sydney and other major cities Sunday, holding placards that read “stop arming Israel”.Other pro-Palestinian protests were being held in cities including Buenos Aires, Madrid, Manila, and Karachi.Numerous commemorations for victims of the October 7 attack are also scheduled internationally, and an official anniversary ceremony will be held in Jerusalem on Monday.Israeli President Isaac Herzog will lead a memorial service at Sderot, one of the cities hardest hit during the onslaught by Palestinian militants.Pope Francis called for an “immediate ceasefire”, including in Lebanon, warning of the risk of an “even larger war”.Since the events of one year ago, “the Middle East has tumbled into ever greater suffering,” said the 87-year-old pontiff.Candlelight vigils are also set to be held in various cities worldwide to mark the anniversary on Monday of Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel.It resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 41,870 people in the Gaza Strip, most of them civilians, according to figures provided by the territory’s health ministry and described as reliable by the United Nations.With Israel now mounting a ground operation in Lebanon and vowing to respond to a barrage of missiles fired by Iran this week, there are fears the conflict could spiral into a wider war.burs-jhb/jj
