Published September 11,2024
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Demonstrators within the Austrian capital Vienna protested a go to by Israeli Parliament Speaker Amir Ohana on Tuesday, calling for an finish to the genocide in Gaza.
The protest occurred amid heightened safety, with demonstrators saved 300 meters (984 ft) away from the parliament constructing, the place Ohana was giving an handle.
Supporters of Palestine gathered in entrance of the City Theater, holding Palestinian flags and banners with messages comparable to “No to genocide,” “Free Gaza” and “Netanyahu, war criminal.” Chants of “Boycott Israel,” “End the genocide” and “Free Palestine” echoed because the protesters criticized the Austrian authorities for internet hosting Ohana.
The protest coincided with Ohana’s handle to the Austrian parliament on the subject of antisemitism, a transfer that many activists deemed controversial, given Israel’s ongoing navy actions in Gaza.
Among the audio system on the demonstration was Jewish-origin Palestinian activist Dalia Sarig-Fellner, who sharply criticized Austrian Parliament Speaker Wolfgang Sobotka for inviting Ohana.
Sarig-Fellner, chatting with the group, accused Sobotka of overlooking the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, the place she mentioned folks have been “struggling to survive for 339 days.”
She questioned the legitimacy of Ohana’s presence.
“On what grounds do you invite Israeli Parliament Speaker Amir Ohana and supporters of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu to speak in the Austrian parliament? Mr. Sobotka, when will you invite Muslim leaders to address anti-Muslim racism?”
In a pointed message to Ohana delivered in each Hebrew and German, Sarig-Fellner condemned his function within the Israeli authorities’s actions in Gaza, accusing him of complicity within the deaths of 1000’s of Palestinians.
“Amir Ohana, how can you come to Austria and speak on antisemitism while you are responsible for the genocide happening in Gaza? You will never be able to wash the blood from your hands. This blood belongs to (thousands of) Palestinians,” she mentioned.
Sarig-Fellner additional known as for an instantaneous finish to the violence in Gaza, declaring that Ohana “belongs not in the Austrian parliament, but in prison.”
Tension has escalated throughout the West Bank amid Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed greater than 41,000 folks, principally ladies and youngsters, since an assault by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 final yr.
At least 694 Palestinians have since been killed and greater than 5,700 others injured by Israeli military hearth within the occupied West Bank, based on Palestinian figures.
Source: www.anews.com.tr