Protests Held in France against Israeli Plan to Annex Occupied Palestinian Territory

Protests Held in France against Israeli Plan to Annex Occupied Palestinian Territory

Protesters take to the streets of Paris against Israeli annexation plans. Photo via: ruptly.tv

A number of NGOs, activists, and French nationals demonstrated in Barbès, France on Saturday, in opposition to Israel's plans to annex 30% of the West Bank, reported Israeli news site The Jerusalem Post.

The protest was organized by groups such as Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, Euro-Palestine, Forum Palestine Citoyenneté and Collectif Argenteuil Solidarité Palestine, among others.

Those in attendance marched through the center of Paris - from Barbès to Châtelet - "in solidarity with Palestine and its resistance."

"The Israeli government of Netanyahu promised, with the support of the Trump administration and the complicity of the European Union, to directly annex a large portion of occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank on 1 July, a blatant violation of international law," Samidoun, who advocates for solidarity with Palestinian prisoners, wrote on their website.

"The claim to annex 30% of the West Bank, Palestinian territory occupied by Israel for 53 years, represents another blatant theft of Palestinian land and a new wave of ethnic cleansing that the Israeli colonizer has carried out against the Palestinian people since 1948," Samidoun added.

"This openly colonialist and racist regime feels even more confident on this criminal path as world news focuses on the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences. It hopes to divert attention from its ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people," they continued.

Parallel events were planned across France in Lille, Marseille, Nice, Strasbourg, Ajaccio, Albertville, Auch, Auxerre, Caen, Clermont-Ferrand, Nancy, Nimes, Rennes and Saint-Etienne advocating for the Palestinian people in response to Israel's annexation plans.

Other rallies took place all across Europe and North America in places like Luxembourg, Gothenburg (Sweden), Bonn, Koblenz (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Bologna, Cagliari, Genoa, Messina, Palermo, Siracusa, Vicenza (Italy), Santa Ana (California), Toronto (Canada).

Over 1,000 European parliamentarians denounced Israel's annexation plan in past days saying the move would be fatal to the prospects of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century,” Israeli Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month announced his government would formally annex the Jordan Valley and all settlement blocs in the West Bank.

The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is seen as occupied territory under international law, thus making all Jewish settlements there – as well as the planned annexation – illegal.

Palestinian officials have threatened to abolish bilateral agreements with Israel if it goes ahead with the annexation, which would further undermine the two-state solution.

Short Link : http://bit.ly/2NxP8bQ