Palestinians Demonstrate in Sydney over Worsening Violence

Published October 8th, 2000 - 02:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

More than 2,000 members of Sydney's Arabic community marched through the city's streets Sunday in protest at the latest deaths in Israel and the Palestinian territories. 

Israeli flags were burnt as demonstrators marched from Hyde Park to the Israeli consulate, then observed eight minutes of silence in tribute to the victims of the unrest. 

Violence flared again in the territories and in Israel after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak Saturday threatened to abandon the peace process unless the Palestinian leaders restored calm within 48 hours. 

The death toll since September 28 rose to 90 when a Palestinian was shot dead by Jewish settlers near Nablus and an Israeli civilian was killed by a stone thrown as he drove through a village near Haifa. 

A spokesman for the protest organizers, Steve Hoppa, said although the event was to be a vigil to mourn those killed, rather than a protest, he was happy with the outcome. 

"We managed to get the people who attended to stay silent for around eight minutes," Hoppa said. 

"What the organizers were trying to express through the people was that instead of just having an angry mob mentality, we are trying to show that we are disciplined. 

"The anger we've got we're trying to harness and direct it in a much more creative way." -- SYDNEY (AFP) 

 

 

 

© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)

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