Several hundred people on Monday rallied in the Serbian capital Belgrade to protest the Israeli military strikes on the Gaza Strip.
The rally, organized by an association named the Palestinian Diaspora in Serbia, was joined by Serbian parliament members, supporters of the Serbian Radical Party, and representatives of the Serbian labor, anarchist and nationalist associations.
The protesters voiced their support for Palestinians, carried anti-Israeli posters and chanted anti-Israeli slogans. They also carried flags of Serbia and Palestine and photographs of killed civilians from Gaza.
Belgrade Mufti Muhamed Jusufspahic, who attended the protest in downtown Belgrade's Republic Square, told reporters that the purpose of the rally was not to express support for any of the parties in the Middle East conflict, but to call for peace and for ending the conflict in a civilized manner.
Mohammed Nabhan, Palestinian ambassador to Serbia, also participated in the rally and said that raids against civilians would not solve the problem, but constituted a war crime.
Israel's offensive entered its 10th day on Monday since the Dec.27 airstrikes on Gaza. A week of airstrikes by Israel expanded into a land offensive over the weekend.
Palestinian deaths have reached 500 and are rising, and some 2,500 have been injured in the offensive which Israel says aims at ending Hamas rocket attacks against its southern cities and towns, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Maxwell Gaylard said on Monday.
Source:Xinhua
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