Thousands of Moroccans descended on the center of Rabat on Saturday, August 3, to support the Palestinian people and denounce the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, brandishing portraits of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, killed on July 31 in Iran.
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Hamas had called for a “ day of anger » Friday August 2 for the funeral of its leader, killed two days earlier in a strike attributed to Israel by the Islamist movement and by Tehran. Israel has not commented.
Waving Palestinian flags, portraits ofIsmail Haniyeh and a cardboard coffin bearing his image, thousands of people marched to Parliament, wearing black and white keffiyehs on their shoulders.
Read alsoHamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Tehran, Iran accuses Israel of ‘aerial’ attack
” Greetings from Rabat to our Gazan friends and the Qassams [branche armée du Hamas, NDLR] “, ” The people want an end to normalization “Relations with Israel,” the crowd shouted, echoing what could be read on many placards, according to an AFP team on the scene, which saw an Israeli flag being burned.
” Ismail Haniyeh was a leader of Palestine »
” Ismail Haniyeh was a leader of Palestine, he is a symbol that pushes us to demonstrate “, Halima Hilali, 64, told AFP. The war in Gaza “ is a shame for humanity that does nothing “, did she say. ” Protesting is the least we can do to help our Palestinian brothers, I think all Muslims should do it. “, added Nabil Nasseri, 42, who came from Salé, a town adjacent to Rabat. You can’t have relations with a group of criminals, you hope for the end of relations » with Israel.
” We do not recognize Israel “, ” (Haniyeh) is the way “, ” Terrorist America ” proclaimed banners at the rally called by the National Action Group for Palestine, which brings together left-wing groups and the Islamist Justice and Development Party.
Since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, several large-scale demonstrations have taken place in Morocco to demand an abrogation of normalization, while opposition to this process had until then been limited.
Read alsoMorocco-Israel: Bilateral relationship is based “on solid fundamentals”
The kingdom has officially called ” to an immediate, comprehensive and lasting end to the Israeli war on Gaza “, without questioning standardization.
Hamas and Tehran have vowed to avenge the death of Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Iran for the inauguration of the new president, raising fears of a flare-up in the region amid the war in the Gaza Strip.