I don't see these as peace protests. The protesters don't really care about the suffering of Israeli children, some of whom have grown up to a reality of being indiscriminately targeted by Gazan terrorists. Little Green Footballs published a graph of how many rockets and mortar attacks Israel has 'gotten' over the past few years. In 2008, there were more than 1700 rockets and 1500 mortar attacks. I follow Israeli news, but I was shocked at the amount.
I did not see anybody protesting against it. Not then, not now.
I don't see anybody protesting against Hamas actions against its own citizens either. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, threw Fatah people off hi-rises and cut off their legs (they're now undergoing rehabilitation in Israel), nobody protested. Nobody talked of the suffering of the Palestinians. You would expect people who care about the Palestinians to protest when Hamas prevents the wounded from being taken out for treatment. You would expect them to say something when Hamas passes a law allowing for public whippings and crucifixations. Nothing.
In any case, here's a roundup of anti-Israel protests across Europe. More protests are expected for Saturday and throughout the week.
France24 reports on the European anti-Israel protests.
Demonstrators in cities around the world Sunday marched in protest against the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip that have killed nearly 300 people in the Palestinian territory.
British police made 10 arrests as a demonstration outside the Israeli embassy in London turned violent. Riot police moved in after people tore down the barriers keeping them back from the embassy.
....
Around Euorpean capitals, Danish police arrested a man on the fringes of a protest march in Copenhagen after he threw a petrol bomb at officers. Police said the rally drew about 700 people, though organisers put the number closer to 2,000.
In Paris, about 200 people gathered on the Champs Elysees, while across the city in the northern district of Barbes, an area with a high concentration of north Africans, police said 1,300 others had joined an anti-Israel protest.
In Madrid, hundreds of people demonstrated outside the Israeli embassy, brandishing placards reading "Israel terrorist", "Stop state terrorism" and "No to the Palestinian holocaust."
Indymedia brings pictures from a protest in Cologne, one of which calls to kick out all the imperialists from the Middle East.
And pictures from the Monday demonstration in Berlin
Police in Germany said about 2,000 protesters marched peacefully down Berlin's Kurfuerstendamm Boulevard and dispersed after about three hours. Protesters also have taken to the streets in Denmark, France, Italy and Spain, according to news reports.
Monday there was also a protest in Finland
About 100 demonstrators marched from central Helsinki to the Israeli Embassy on Monday to protest the country's military strikes against the Gaza Strip.
The protesters gathered outside the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art at 5 pm before marching to the Israeli mission.
Police say the event passed off peacefully and lasted about half an hour. It was organised by two NGO's, the Arab Peoples' Friendship Association and Pro Palestina.
There were similar marches in Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, London and elsewhere on Monday.
There were also protests in the Scandinavian countries
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through Nordic cities and towns Monday to protest against Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip, setting Israeli flags alight and chanting "Israel, murderer."
In Stockholm, organisers said some 1,000 people turned out while police said around 500 had gathered in one of the Swedish capital's main squares before marching to the Israeli embassy.
The demonstrators, mainly Muslim immigrants to Sweden, waved banners and shouted "Close the embassy", "Gaza solidarity" and "Israel, murderer", and set fire to an Israeli flag painted with a swastika.
"Enough blood! We've seen enough," Omar Mustafa, an organiser with the Swedish Islamic Association, told AFP. "We don't see any reaction from the rest of the world while there is a massacre going on," he added.
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The Greek Communist party held a demonstration in Athens.
CNN reports:
Greek riot police clashed with protesters in Athens during a demonstration outside the Israeli Embassy, according to police and images broadcast on state television. Protesters hurled stones in an attempt to break through the police cordon around the heavily secured embassy. Police responded with tear gas.
Tuesday there was a protest in Wales
More than 100 people have attended a protest in Cardiff city centre calling for peace in Gaza.
Carrying banners and singing songs, they called for an end to violence in an hour-long demonstration.
Meanwhile, members of a group called Swansea Palestine Link protested at BBC Wales' Cardiff HQ by superglueing themselves to security barriers.
Palestinian officials say 360 have died in air attacks since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.
Demonstration organiser Ray Davies said at the protest in the main Queen Street shopping street: "We want to give a Welsh protest voice to what is happening in Gaza."
Mr Davies, vice-chair of CND Cymru, said: "I feel a great deal of sadness and pain at the bombings, and it has prompted me, and other people, to use that to campaign for peace in Palestine and Israel."
Yousif Abbas, who runs an Iraqi community school in Cardiff, said: "A resolution has been promised, but there is no sign of it. There needs to be an end to all this, by peaceful means."
Abdullah Saif, 18, from Butetown, Cardiff, said: "We're the next generation, and we need to show people what's happening."
There was also a protest in Bulgaria:
Several hundred Palestinians, representatives of Arab associations and Bulgarians staged a rally in downtown Sofia on Tuesday afternoon, protesting Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have entered the fourth day, Xinhua reported.
The protesters handed a declaration to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, appealing that Bulgaria, in its capacity as a member of the European Union, should provide support for the restoration of peace in the Gaza Strip.
The protesters chanted "Long Live Palestine" and carried posters that read "Muslims are for peace," "How long will there be innocent victims?" and "Killed children do not grow up."
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