ABU DHABI AND DUBAI Hundreds of people staged demonstrations outside Palestinian consulates in the UAE today to protest against the Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.
More than a hundred people turned up to protest at a 5pm demonstration outside the Palestinian embassy in Abu Dhabi.In Dubai, the crowd, which included not only Palestinians and other Arabs, but some westerners and children, converged on the consulate in Bur Dubai shortly before noon.
Some of the protesters draped themselves in Palestinian flags, while some also brandished placards bearing slogans such as “Get Israel Out” and “Free Palestine”.Palestinian community leaders addressed the crowd, which chanted anti-Israeli slogans.
Samira Mahmoud, 27, from Gaza, said she had been closely following the news since the bombings began on Saturday, and was anxious to return home to call her sister who still lives in the strip there with her family."I called my sister immediately after hearing what happened. I wanted to make sure that she and her children were OK. She told me her children couldn't go to school and that they were very scared after hearing the sounds of the bombs." Mrs Mahmoud, who moved to Dubai with her husband and children two years ago, said the situation in Gaza seemed out of control."The situation was bad before I left but now the situation has gone beyond repair with the strongest attacks we have seen in a long time."
Faris Mansour, 40, from the US, said he wanted to show his solidarity with the Palestinian people: "I heard the news yesterday and I was very upset and disturbed. Gaza is a small area with nearly two million people cramped in an area the size of a small neighbourhood. “Dropping bombs indiscriminately near schools and residential areas was inevitable. The hospitals are overcrowded and do not have the equipment to cope with the numbers of injured."
Rasha Abu Baker and Zoi Constantine
ALARABIYA
28/12/08
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