Portland protests Israeli attack on Gaza

“Occupation is a crime, killing children is a crime” - was the chant that filled the downtown streets of Portland, Oregon - USA, Tuesday afternoon, as hundreds of local residents gathered with handmade signs and megaphones to voice their outrage at the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that have continued for the last four days.

“From Ramallah to Gaza, The people will maintain their dignity”, chanted Arab-American protesters during Tuesday's protest and march in Portland.

The protestors chanted slogans calling for ending the Israeli occupation to Palestine, and ending the US government support and military aid to the Israeli occupation.

As the bombs continue to fall, Israeli authorities say that the first stage of their long-planned assault is ending, and the second stage is about to begin - a ground invasion of the besieged and imprisoned Gaza Strip.

Protesters pledged that if that happens, they would return to downtown Portland on Friday to throw their shoes at Senator Ron Wyden.

Mazin Malik, a Palestinian-American who has lived in the Portland area for decades, attended the protest Tuesday.  He told IMEMC reporters, “People in Portland should pressure their representatives to use the financial leverage of the US government to reach parameters to forge a true peace.”

He added, “With the new administration in Washington, we have a chance to start thinking in that direction.  More than ever, we have an opportunity to change things; it's the right moment, so we should seize that chance.  I don't think Barack Obama will change US policy toward Israel necessarily, but there are levels – he will be less biased than George Bush.”

An estimated 500 people attended the Portland protest, which was just one of dozens held worldwide on Tuesday, in solidarity with the besieged population of Gaza.

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