A NUMBER of activists who held a pro-Palestinian demonstration in front of the Geneva regional parliament on Thursday (29/8) demanded that the local government take a firm stance on the ongoing Israeli military attacks in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Activists gathered in downtown Geneva chanted slogans in support of Palestine and condemned the Swiss government for failing to take a stand against Israel. They also called for a boycott of Israeli products.
Rania, a Swiss activist of Palestinian descent and one of the organizers of the protest, criticized the territorial government for its inaction. “The territorial government has done nothing and has not contacted the federal government to change our policies,” she told Anadolu Agency.
Rania highlighted the dire situation in Gaza, saying many people were forcibly displaced and killed, noting that more than 500 people had been killed in the West Bank since October last year.
He also highlighted the lack of involvement of the federal parliament, which, he said, has been discussing the issue for nine months without taking a concrete position. He stressed the need to remind Swiss authorities of Geneva’s role as a city of peace and its historic commitment to the Geneva Conventions.
Another protester, Lara Atassi, also criticized the Geneva cantonal government for its silence. Atassi condemned Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis for his continued support for Israel and accused him of failing to condemn the genocide.
Read also: UN Special Rapporteur: Israel’s Crimes Recorded, Regime Must Be Punished
Tensions remain high across the occupied West Bank amid Israel’s deadly military operation. Since October 7 last year, more than 40,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been reported killed in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian sources indicate that at least 670 Palestinians have been killed, nearly 5,400 injured, and more than 10,300 arrested in the occupied West Bank.
The International Court of Justice in a landmark ruling on July 19 declared Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. (Ant/Z-2)
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