KARACHI: Demonstra­tions and rallies continued on Saturday to protest against Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza and express solidarity with Palestinians.

Palestine Foundation staged a women-only rally on main M. A. Jinnah Road, where a large number of women and children marched carrying Palesti­nian flags and placards.

They urged the Muslim world to raise voice against Israeli atrocities on Palestinians and the “evil design” to establish the state of Israel on holy Arab land.

The demonstrators also appealed the western world to join hands to express solidarity with the oppressed Palesti­nians whose rights had been usurped by Zionist forces.

“Along with the major world powers, we also condemn the silence of the United Nations and human rights organisations against the atrocities of the Zionist regime and its allies on innocent Palestinians,” said Dr Sabir Abu Maryam of the Palestine Foundation Pakistan while addressing the rally.

“Now every form of resistance against Israeli apartheid is a legitimate response to the oppression and violence faced by Palestinians daily. A lasting peace in Gaza and Palestine cannot be achieved without Israel putting an end to its settler expansion and reverting to the borders as they stood before 1967.”

He said that the bombing of the hospital—a clear violation of international humanitarian law — is a heartbreaking reminder of the disproportionate and indiscriminate use of force by Israel in the region.

Civil society stages rally in Clifton

Similarly in Clifton, a large number of people converged at Do Talwar on the call of different organisations of civil society.

The speakers at the demonstrations said that this was not a war but rather genocide. There were no symmetries that could be drawn between the oppressor and the oppressed to declare both as victims, they added.

They demanded all the world nations, individually and collectively, as well as all world organisations to call for an immediate ceasefire, and to uphold international humanitarian law and the rules of war.

Published in Dawn, October 22th, 2023