Pro-Palestinian marches are now a feature of everyday life in cities across the globe. Taking up the public space while shouting fiery slogans and waving flags, protesters challenge the very right of Israel to exist while demanding support for Hamas terrorists.
Protesters in countries with large Muslim populations, including the U.S., France, Germany, Canada, and the UK express disillusionment with their governments for supporting Israel.
Another common theme for pro-Palestinian protesters has been to obscure information about the Israelis held hostage, with footage gathered from around the world showing them ripping down posters showing the names and faces of the hostages.
Here is a look at just some of the recent demonstrations in words and pictures which have taken over city streets in the wake of the greatest single-day slaughter of Jews since the end of World War II put a close on the Holocaust.
United States
Thousands of protesters flooded into Washington, DC, on Saturday and called for a ceasefire in Gaza while some slamming President Joe Biden’s support for Washington’s top ally in the Middle East.
The rally, at which demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and wore the traditional keffiyeh scarf, was the largest protest in Washington since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7, AFP reports.
The public protest came just days after pro-Palestinian demonstrators, who want a ceasefire that would benefit the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, stormed the U.S. Capitol and staged a protest inside the Cannon Rotunda that one observer likened to an “insurrection.”
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“Free, free Palestine,” and “End the siege on Gaza now,” the protesters shouted on Saturday..
Other slogans targeted the U.S. president: “Biden, Biden you can’t hide, you signed off on genocide” and “We say no, Genocide Joe.”
Demonstrators gather in Freedom Plaza during a rally in support of Palestinians in Washington, DC, on November 4, 2023. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Men lock arms and shout slogans during a demonstration in Freedom Plaza for a rally supporting Palestinians in Washington, DC, on November 4, 2023. (ALI KHALIGH/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
A demonstrator waves the Palestinian flag on the top of the Rochambeau Statue during a D.C. demonstration of solidarity with Palestinians. (ALI KHALIGH/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty)
The U.S. has seen a spate of anti-Israel protests in major cities and on college campuses since a Hamas terror attack October 7 killed 1,200 Israelis and wounded roughly 4,400 more.
Sympathizers of the terror organization not only shout their calls of support but also attack any display of backing for Israel or the hostages Hamas holds.
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About 200 people — including some Americans — were taken to Gaza as hostages.
Their fate remains unknown.
United Kingdom
Clashes broke out with police as terror arrests were made during pro-Palestine demonstrations in London on Saturday, as Breitbart News reported.
Thousands of anti-Israel activists swarmed the streets of the UK capital, staging sit-in protests in major thoroughfares of London, including Oxford Circus, which was blockaded by demonstrators until it was cleared by the Metropolitan Police.
Protesters also “occupied” key transport hubs including the Charing Cross and Waterloo train stations, the Breitbart London report sets out.
At least three protestors were arrested at Piccadilly Circus, including one who was arrested for allegedly displaying a placard that “could incite hatred, contrary to Section 12 of the Terrorism Act,” the Met said.
Another was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, while a third was arrested for allegedly breaching the Public Order Act.
A pro-Palestinian protester from Movement for Justice holds a sign during a march by the Free Palestine Coalition on 4th November 2023 in London, United Kingdom.(Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Pro-Palestinian protesters stage a sit-down protest at Oxford Circus during a march through central London in London, United Kingdom. Mass Palestinian solidarity rallies have been held throughout the UK for a fourth consecutive weekend. (Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)
On November 11 Remembrance Day services in London will focus on the Cenotaph memorial in Whitehall. The annual event is designed to honor the men and women who gave their lives in the fight against tyranny in all wars.
Organizers are currently worried pro-Palestinian protesters will seek to interrupt the solemn occasion.
“Our Prime Minister should simply say that we will block the pro-Palestine rally from taking place on Armistice Day. But he won’t because he is gutless,” said Brexit leader Nigel Farage.
Meanwhile on Friday, two women who attended a pro-Palestinian march three weeks ago were charged under the U.K.’s Terrorism Act for displaying images on their clothing of paragliders.
Prosecutors said the images aroused suspicion they were supporters of Hamas, which U.K. authorities designate as a terrorist group.
France
In Paris on Saturday, several thousand protesters flooded the streets of the capital and some shouted “Israel, assassin!”
Time reports banners on a sound-system truck at the Paris march through rain-dampened streets read: “Stop the massacre in Gaza.” Demonstrators, many carrying Palestinian flags, chanted “Palestine will live, Palestine will win.”
Demonstrators also took aim at French President Emmanuel Macron, chanting “Macron, accomplice.”
Paris, France. People gather as they carry Palestinian flags and banners to stage a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Paris, France on November 04, 2023. (SARA KONTAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters seen with a Palestinian flag at the Colonne de Juillet during the Pro-Palestine demonstration on November 4, 2023 in Paris, France. (SARA KONTAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
A banner blaming the U.S. for Palestinian strife is seen as people gather to carry Palestinian flags and banners to stage a demonstration in in Paris, France on November 04, 2023. (Ibrahim Ezzat/Anadolu via Getty)
Paris’ police chief authorized the march from République to Nation, two large plazas in eastern Paris, but vowed that any behavior deemed antisemitic or sympathetic to terrorism would not be tolerated.
France has recorded more than a thousand anti-Semitic acts since the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen on Israel, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Sunday.
“The number of anti-Semitic acts has exploded,” he told France 2 television, adding that 486 people have been arrested for such offences, including 102 foreigners.
Germany
In Berlin, the Time report sets out around 1,000 police officers were deployed Saturday to ensure order after previous pro-Palestinian protests turned violent.
German news agency dpa reported that about 6,000 protesters marched through the center of the German capital.
Police banned any kind of public or written statements that are antisemitic, anti-Israeli or glorify violence or terror. Several thousand protesters also marched through the west German city of Duesseldorf.
A public avenue is flooded with pro-Palestinian protesters during a demonstration in solidarity to Palestine in Berlin, Germany on November 4, 2023. ( Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People attend a demonstration in solidarity to Palestine in Berlin, Germany on November 4, 2023. (Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
More than 1,200 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting.
Turkey
Dozens of protesters gathered in front of Turkey’s Foreign Ministry where the top Turkish and U.S. diplomats were holding talks on Monday, accusing the United States of complicity in the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
AP reports the protesters, members of an Islamist group, carried Turkish and Palestinian flags and held anti-U.S. and Israel signs as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
Earlier, police dispersed a group of students who marched toward the ministry chanting “Murderer Blinken, get out of Turkey!”
On 4 November 2023, a group of Islamist groups and organizations in Turkey, including Ozgurder, organized a protest in opposition to Israel in Istanbul, Turkey, and express their support for Palestine.(Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People gather outside the United States Embassy with the call of Palestine Solidarity Platform to protest the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit in Ankara, Turkiye on November 05, 2023. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A female demonstrator was seen holding a banner saying “You come not only as a State of Secretary but also as a war criminal” during the Pro-Palestine demonstration in Istanbul against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Turkey. (Onur Dogman/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It was the second day of protests denouncing Blinken’s visit to Turkey.
On Sunday, police fired tear gas and a water cannon as thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters tried to storm an air base used by U.S. troops in southern Turkey, as Breitbart News reported.
The mob was an offshoot of a protest against America and Israel — and in favor of the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas — convened by the Turkish Islamist Group the “IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation.”
Several hundred protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, chanting “God is great.”
Canada
Protesters voicing support for anti-Israel Hamas fighters gathered at rallies in more than two dozen cities across Canada on Saturday and the week before.
The protests in Canada, which took place in cities including Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Fredericton, were launched after a call by the Palestinian Youth Movement for a national day of demonstrations.
Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian supporters gather during an ‘Edmonton March For Gaza’ protest and rally in the heart of Edmonton downtown, demonstrating their solidarity, on October 29, 2023, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Thousands stage a demonstration in support of Palestinians in Ottawa, Canada on October 29, 2023. (Kadri Mohamed/Anadolu via Getty Images)
An aerial view of thousands pro-Palestinian supporters marching during a rally in downtown Toronto, Ontario on November 4, 2023. Demonstrators gathered outside US Consulate General and marched in downtown Toronto to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. (Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Canadian group is demanding Canada end its support for Israel’s defensive military action against Hamas, which the federal government has designated as a terrorist organization since 2002.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated to reflect a revised number on the death toll from the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel. The Israeli government estimate of 1,400 was revised to around 1,200, according to Reuters.