Thousands in Gaza demonstration in Oslo – causing tram trouble

Because while the Norwegian children are getting ready for the start of school next week, the classrooms in the Gaza Strip are empty.

According to the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef), half of all schools that are used as refuges by frightened Palestinians are directly hit by Israeli rocket attacks.

– The death toll in Gaza has now passed 40,000 people and the numbers will increase as long as Israel can continue unimpeded and unpunished, says Anine Barg, head of the Palestine Committee in Oslo.

More delays

Ruter warns of delays of around 20 minutes on trams that pass through central Oslo on Saturday afternoon. The reason is the large Gaza demonstration.

– I would recommend travelers to calculate plenty of time, says Cathrine Myhren-Haugen, press contact at Ruter Oslo newspaper.

According to The daily newspaper turns line 17 and line 18 at the stops Jernbanetorget and Tinghuset. Myhren-Haugen tells the newspaper that a detour is being made and that Ruter is trying to make up for the delays.

She emphasizes, however, that the delay does not weigh heavily on traffic in Oslo.

Thousands of protesters

On Saturday, the Palestine Committee gathered many like-minded citizens for a support demonstration for Palestinian schoolchildren, teachers, professors and students, who have been living under the rain of bombs on the Gaza Strip for over ten months. Both children and adults participate in the marking.

According to operations manager Per-Ivar Iversen of the Oslo police, there is talk of several thousand attendees.

– I think there are probably several thousand, but I don’t know exactly how many, he says to NTB.

According to NTB’s photographer at the scene, it is calm, but there is a visible presence of police and guards who will make sure that everything goes well.

– We have sufficient resources there to handle the demonstration. There have been no unwanted incidents so far, and things are going smoothly, says Iversen.

Teachers in protest

– We will mark our opposition to the genocide and to the Norwegian participation, says Barg of the Palestine Committee about the demonstration.

A gentle breeze gives air to the many Palestinian flags that are waved by the crowd at Youngstorget. Several have brought posters with them.

Two girls dressed in traditional Palestinian costumes each hold a placard with the slogans “Free Palestine” and “497 school buildings destroyed”.

The Norwegian Education Association in Oslo is among the organizations present with a banner. Several teachers are there to show their support for colleagues in the Gaza Strip.

“School is security. School is friendship. School is hope. Stop the bombing of schools,” reads a poster.

According to an overview from Al Jazeera 500 schools have been hit by attacks in the Gaza Strip since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas on 7 October last year.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the war has cost more than 40,000 Palestinians their lives, including thousands of children. It is believed to be large dark numbers.