New York | Thousands of demonstrators demand an end to “Israeli colonization”

(New York) With cries of “Liberate, liberate Palestine”, several thousand people demonstrated on Friday in the heart of New York to demand an end to “Israeli colonization” and denounce the support of the United States for Israel, all by expressing their fears about military operations in Gaza.

In the megacity at the crossroads of all communities and religions, a swarm of Palestinian flags was visible on Broadway Avenue, between the 40^e and 42^e streets, a stone’s throw from Times Square, noted AFP journalists.

Mostly young, and of all origins, wearing keffiyehs and scarves, the demonstrators called for the “liberation” of “Palestine” and accused Israel of “genocide”, six days after the deadly Hamas attacks, which killed more than ‘a thousand civilians in Israel. Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip and called on the civilian population to evacuate the north of this poor territory, auguring a vast ground offensive.

“I am extremely worried, this has to stop,” declared at the heart of the demonstration a 43-year-old professor, Liz Zacharia, who has lived in New York for 12 years after growing up in California, of a father “ originally from Jerusalem. For her, “Israel’s colonial project must stop now, because it only increases the cycle of violence and oppression of Palestinians.”

Many signs call for an end to “genocide” or “apartheid” by Israel. “From the river (Jordan) to the sea, Palestine will be free,” the demonstrators also chant, a slogan considered as a call for the destruction of the State of Israel by Jewish organizations. Many banners also call on the United States to end its “support” for Israel.

“It is my duty, not only as a Muslim, but also as a human being, to demonstrate with everyone against the crimes that the Israeli occupation has caused to the Palestinian people,” explains Laibah Faiaz, 21. . “No one recognizes the extent of the destruction they inflicted on these innocent people,” she adds.

Since Saturday, New York, a megacity of 8 to 9 million inhabitants, including 1 to 2 million Jews, has lived to the rhythm of demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause and vigils or demonstrations in solidarity with the Israeli victims of Hamas attacks. . Like the rest of the United States, many gatherings take place on campuses, such as at the prestigious Columbia University.