People in London, Berlin Mark Int’l Quds Day

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Hundreds of people in London and Berlin commemorated the International Quds Day, marching in support of the oppressed people of Palestine and against the decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories by the Israeli regime.

Demonstrators in London convened in front of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia on Sunday, shouting “Death to Israel” and other slogans against the occupying regime in Tel Aviv, while expressing solidarity with Palestinians. 

During the rally, which began at 3 pm local time, protesters also carried a number of flags of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, which has been a significant aid to the Lebanese army defending the Middle Eastern country against Israeli aggression. 

The London rally also came a day after a similar demonstration was held under scorching heat in the German capital of Berlin, where some 1,600 people gathered to voice solidarity with Palestinians and their strong dissent against the Israeli regime, Press TV reported.

The demonstration was staged in the western part of Berlin under heavy restrictions imposed by the police. Protesters were carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags during the rally. They shouted “Zionists are the perpetrators” and “Zionists anywhere, you will lose everywhere.” They also called for a boycott of Israeli products. 

Similar events were held in some 800 cities worldwide on Friday with millions of demonstrators commemorating the event. 

The International Quds Day is a legacy of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini, who designated the day in solidarity with the Palestinians. Since 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the International Quds Day has been held worldwide on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. 

However, this year’s event comes amid higher than normal tensions along the border of besieged Gaza Strip with the occupied territories, where large-scale protests have taken place on a weekly basis. 

More than 120 Palestinian protesters have been killed since late March and thousands more wounded by Israeli forces, mainly sharpshooters along the border. The Israeli military has come under intense international criticism for permitting its forces to open fire on unarmed protesters in Gaza. 

March 30 marked the start of a series of protests, dubbed “The Great March of Return,” demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland. 

The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem al-Quds.