Yesterday, around 10,000 people turned up at Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal, to commemorate Al Nakbar and to protest the escalating violence in Israel/Palestine.
Al Nakbar, or ‘The Catastrophe’, is held every 15th of May and marks the date of the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, and the resulting removal of Palestinian homelands. It has led to displacement of millions of Palestinians and numerous wars, including the Intifada, or ‘uprising’.
Last week, during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa mosque, firing tear gas and injuring hundreds, after a recent spate of Palestinian home acquisitions by Israeli settlers. Hamas responded by firing rockets into Israel from Gaza, killing up to nine people. Israeli Defence Forces retaliated with airstrikes and ground troops. The Palestinian death toll is spiralling into the hundreds. Yesterday, eight Palestinian children – all cousins – were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
An election has just been held in Israel, resulting in a deadlock. The former Prime Minister, Netanyahu, is currently trying to cling to power.
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