Against the War on Gaza and Starvation: Thousands Participate in a National Demonstration in Sakhnin and Protests in Several Towns

SadaNews - A mass national demonstration involving thousands began this evening, Friday, in front of the Al-Nour Mosque on Shahada Street in Sakhnin, condemning the starvation in Gaza and demanding an end to the ongoing genocide against the sector since October 7, 2023. Meanwhile, protests were held in Arab towns including Jaffa, Tira, and Kabul.

The march traversed the streets of Sakhnin, reaching the municipal square, where a rally will be held, featuring speeches from the head of the Higher Follow-Up Committee, Muhammad Barakeh, and the mayor of Sakhnin, Mazen Ghnaim.

The police deployed reinforced forces to Sakhnin and set up their base in the municipal square, in addition to barriers erected at the city's main intersection in an attempt to obstruct access to the demonstration.

Among the participants in the demonstration were leaders from the Higher Follow-Up Committee and party heads, while protesters held pictures of the hungry martyrs in Gaza and children under the rubble.

This demonstration comes amid a systematic repressive campaign by Israeli police against the basic rights of Arab citizens, breaking the barrier of fear and repression imposed by the police since October 7, 2023, when Israeli authorities enacted arbitrary restrictions on organizing demonstrations and protests, detaining dozens of activists under flimsy security pretenses that received judicial coverage. In contrast, Jewish citizens are allowed to demonstrate freely, including calls to stop the war, while strict security measures remain imposed on any attempt to express an opinion, in a blatant violation of international human rights covenants.

Simultaneously, the campaign of arbitrary arrests has escalated, with dozens of administrative detention orders issued against activists and leaders in the Arab community merely for posts on social media, marking a dangerous precedent that consolidates a policy of discrimination and oppression.

The rally was called by the Higher Follow-Up Committee and its affiliated committees; the committee had called for the "widest public participation in the demonstration in Sakhnin against the genocide and starvation war, which will take place at 4:30 PM from the city center, organized by influential political forces in our Arab community, along with progressive peace organizations opposed to occupation and war."

This comes as many people in the Gaza Strip have been martyred and injured today, including those waiting for aid, with dozens more injured due to sporadic Israeli airstrikes on the sector, amid continued catastrophic humanitarian conditions and famine.

In Jaffa, residents protested against the continuation of the war on Gaza, demanding relief for the sector and the entry of aid.

In Kabul, residents also demonstrated in a protest against the war.

Protest in Tira

Dozens participated today, Friday, in a protest at the municipal circle in the city of Tira, against the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip and the Israeli starvation policy imposed on the sector.

Participants in the protest raised banners demanding an end to the war and pictures of child victims of the Israeli aggression on the sector, where about 18,000 children have been martyred as a result of the Israeli war.

Some banners read: "We have had enough silence and enough submission, Gaza is dying of hunger," and "Killing children is one of the ugliest war crimes," and "We stand against killing and genocide," and "Enough oppression, enough killing, enough genocide."

The protest was organized by the popular committee in the city of Tira, as part of a series of protests rejecting the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

Hossni Sultani, a member of the popular committee in Tira, told "Arabs 48": "Our protests and demonstrations are the least we can do in light of the genocide happening against our people in Gaza, as we will not allow the starvation of our people there to continue, and they have the right to live just like the rest of the peoples of the world. Therefore, we call upon our Palestinian people to stand against the continued starvation."

Sultani stressed the importance of continuing the activities, stating: "It is crucial to maintain the continuity of activities; this is the second protest in recent days, but it is more significant than the previous one, and that is where the importance of continuity lies in light of the prevailing tension in the street and anger over what is happening in Gaza."

Tira city council member Fadi Iqari stated: "What is happening in Gaza is a previously unseen genocide, experienced live and directly by our people in Gaza, before the eyes of the entire world, and it must end now."

Iqari added: "We thank the popular committee for organizing the protest, and it is essential to continue; we feel humiliated in light of the war and our insufficient efforts to stop it. Thus, it is important for our people inside Palestine to continue the struggle until the genocide ends."

Jumana Shbita from Tira expressed to "Arabs 48": "Our message is clear, which is to unify as a Palestinian people in the face of the disaster caused by this very difficult war upon us. The presence and participation in the city of Tira today was very good, given the repression felt by the people due to the war."

She added: "Arab nations and peoples must act to stop this war, which is devastating the Palestinian people in Gaza, a place that has been wiped clean with nothing left."

For her part, Shirin Qariya from Tira, who is among the participants in the protest, said: "Our hearts burn for the killing of children, women, elders, and our people in Gaza; we demand an end to this genocide that targets everyone."

Qariya pointed to the scenes of starvation and killing coming from Gaza, saying: "Scenes from Gaza reach us that burn our hearts, of starvation, killing, destruction, and bloodshed. We all have families and children, and our hearts burn when we see these scenes."

In its call for the demonstration in Sakhnin, the Follow-Up Committee stated that "participation in this demonstration should be a resounding expression of our cry amid the ongoing massacre in the Gaza Strip, in implementation of plans put in place by the occupying government within the genocide war it has waged for more than 21 months against our people in the Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank as well."

The Follow-Up Committee added, "This demonstration has become a unifying one, to include all those opposed to the war from our Arab masses and the real progressive forces in their struggle against occupation and war."

Additionally, the popular committees affiliated with the Higher Follow-Up Committee had called upon the Arab masses in the country to participate in protest vigils against the war on Gaza during these days, urging them for wide participation in the national demonstration against the genocide war in the city of Sakhnin.

For its part, the popular committee in Sakhnin, located in the Galilee region in the north of the country, called upon all families to "mobilize and participate in the demonstration against the genocide war, which will begin at 4 PM next Friday from Shahada Street in Sakhnin, to raise a courageous cry against injustice and tyranny, against genocide and racist and repressive policies."

The Sakhnin Popular Committee stated that "in these circumstances, there is a crucial importance for effective and widespread contribution and participation in the call and in this demonstration, amidst the ongoing genocide, starvation, political persecution, and the repression of the Arab masses. It is time to break the wall of silence and fear to do the least required of us in the face of the genocide and the plans for the displacement faced by our families in the Gaza Strip."

The committee concluded by stating, "Sakhnin was and will remain loyal to its pledge and the vanguard in defending our people and its causes, and we are all hopeful and confident in the awareness and commitment of our people."

Israeli police arrested 24 demonstrators last night, Thursday, in the prisoner square in Haifa during a rally condemning the starvation in Gaza amid the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza, before later releasing them.

The police engaged violently with demonstrators during their arrest, having increased their presence around the site of the event. They claimed in a statement that those detained "violated police instructions and raised banners and shouted against Israeli operations in Gaza."

Last Wednesday, many residents of Nazareth participated in a protest under the title "The Specter of Famine Devastates Children and Families," organized in the Ein Square in the city of Nazareth, at the invitation of youth groups, where the area surrounding the protest was featured by the presence of police and security forces. Another demonstration was organized in Kafr Qassem.

The Higher Guidance Committee for Arabs in the Negev, in partnership with the Forum of Local Bedouin Authorities and the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages, has called for participation in a protest vigil tomorrow, Saturday, at 6 PM at the central roundabout in the city of Rahat, near the community center.

The committee stated in its announcement that this vigil is being held "in protest against the deliberate starvation policy and the ongoing genocide war against our people in the Gaza Strip, demanding an immediate halt to airstrikes and demanding the urgent entry of food and medical aid."