About 80 pro-Palestine protesters rallied at the Federal Building in Westwood on Sunday afternoon, calling for an end to violence in the Gaza Strip.
The protest is the fourth pro-Palestine protest at the location in three weeks. On Friday, a couple hundred demonstrators prayed and rallied, calling for Israel to stop launching airstrikes on Gaza.
Both Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for eight years and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, and Israel observed a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire on Saturday. However, there has been little movement toward a long-term ceasefire in the region.
As of Sunday afternoon, 46 Israelis and more than 1,000 Palestinians have died since Israel launched its operation on July 8, according to the New York Times. Most deaths on the Palestinian side were civilians.
Khalid Majiadi, 47, said he came to the protest because he wants the region to find peace. He said he thinks Israel should end its blockade of Gaza and give more rights to Palestinians living in Israel. The blockade, which restricts people in Gaza from traveling outside of the region, has been ongoing for seven years, as Israel has said it’s necessary to provide safety for its citizens.
“Go to the source and resolve the problem,” Majiadi said. “Everyone has to be equal.”
Angélica Becerra, a graduate student in Chicana/o studies, said she is angry that Palestinian civilians are getting killed and hurt even though they did not participate in any attack on Israel. Becerra said she thinks supporters of Israel have been using Hamas as justification for attacks on the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas is a deflection strategy for a lot of pro-Israel people,” Becerra said.
Pro-Palestine protesters said they are planning to organize another protest next Sunday at the Federal Building. No pro-Israel protests appear to have been planned yet.
Compiled by Jeong Park, Bruin senior staff.
No response from the other side? Didn’t bother trying to get ahold of any of the many Pro-Israel groups on campus or in the general community? Really — Daily Bruin? How far you’ve fallen from a respectable college news source.
Let me just clarify and emphasize the fact that when Israel issues a warning of attack on an area, Hamas is the first to force its civilians to stay put and fall victim to airstrikes. Hamas is to blame for their “human shield” strategy which has caused numerous civilian fatalities. The more casualties the palestinians have, the more the leftist media eats it like candy. Leftist propaganda looks for any small reason to malign the Jews. Palestinian social media has even gone as far as writing guides for how their individuals should approach the media using words such as “genocide”, “holocaust”, etc. In fact Israel’s attacks are so well targeted, that their bombs are designed to cause minimal damage to nearby areas. Hamas has turned Gaza into a mess, and they aren’t liking the idea of lying in their own filth.
It’s not a “peace rally” without Jew-haters and asslifters.
I am not pro-palestine.