Palestinians, Colombian supporters, protest the Israeli offensive in Gaza

The Palestinian Community in the Columbian capital, Bogota, held, along with local supporters, a massive protest on Friday against the ongoing Israeli offensive against the residents of the Gaza Strip, and expressed their solidarity with residents of Gaza, the Palestinian embassy in Colombia reported.

The People’s Daily Online reported that the protesters marched from the historic Bolivar Square to the Israeli embassy in northern Bogota, demanding peace for the Palestinian people.

The protest came while the Colombian government issued a statement condemning the Israeli offensive and expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian people.

Hundreds of Palestinians, Arab Columbians and international supporters participated in the protest which took off, starting from Simon Bolivar Square, and marched through the streets of the capital, and towards the Israeli embassy.

The protesters carried Palestinian and Colombian flags; they also carried black flags and pictures of Palestinian children who were killed in the Israeli military offensive. They also carried banners demanding Israel to stop the bloodshed in Gaza.

Furthermore, the protesters demanded the international community and the United Nations to intervene, stop the Israeli offensive, and to prosecute Israeli leaders responsible for the crimes in Gaza.  

Ali Nofal, a Palestinian protester, called for collecting donations in order to send medication to the Gaza Strip. Some of the protesters burned Israeli flags while expressing their anger against the ongoing slaughter in Gaza, the Palestinian embassy reported.

The protest caught the attention of major news agencies in Columbia.