Hundreds rally in Tunisia in support of Palestinians

Demonstrations were held Saturday in Tunis and several Tunisian cities in support of the Palestinians and to demand the intervention of the international community to stop the "crimes" of Israeli forces.

The death toll in Gaza rose to 149, including 41 children on Sunday, health authorities said, as Israel launched 'most intense raids yet'. 

Hundreds of demonstrators draped in Palestinian flags gathered in the center of the capital Tunis, before marching on the emblematic avenue Habib Bourguiba, under police surveillance, a journalist from AFP noted.

Among the slogans of the protesters - who braved the confinement in force until Sunday -- one could hear: "Tunisians support Palestine" and "The people want to criminalize the normalization with Israel.

"When it comes to the massacres against Palestinians, the international powers remain silent and unresponsive to Zionist crimes," denounced Dalila Borji, a 23-year-old student.

For her mother Nahla, "this injustice feeds more and more the hatred of people towards Israel and the countries that support it".

"What is the international community waiting for to intervene and save the Palestinians?

Protesters also gathered in Kasbah Square, near the seat of government in Tunis.

Other demonstrations in support of the Palestinians were also organized in Sfax and Monastir (central-eastern Tunisia), according to witnesses and videos shared on social networks.

The Tunisian authorities condemned an "aggression against the Palestinian territories" carried out by Israel and called on the international community to "assume its responsibilities.

Tunis, which currently sits on the UN Security Council, had submitted a draft statement calling on "Israel to halt settlement activities, demolitions and expulsions" of Palestinians, "including in East Jerusalem", the eastern sector of the city annexed by the Jewish state.

This statement was not adopted by the Council, which met in an emergency session this week, due to the opposition of the United States.

AFP