Tens of thousands of Muslims protested across the Middle East on Friday in support of the Palestinians and against Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, an event that underscores the risk of a wider regional conflict erupting as Israel prepares for a ground intervention.
From Amman in Jordan to Yemen’s capital Sana’a, Muslims took to the streets after Friday prayers, angered by Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military airstrikes followed an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel last Saturday.
At the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Israeli police allowed only the elderly, women and children to attend Friday prayers to limit the potential for violence. Tens of thousands of people usually attend Friday prayers at this mosque.
According to an Associated Press reporter who was there, police allowed only a Palestinian teenage girl and her mother to enter the mosque out of a total of 20 worshipers who tried to enter, some of them over 50 years old. The Palestinian youths, who were not allowed to enter the mosque, stood in front of its gates until the police forced them to leave the area.
“We can’t live, we can’t breathe, they are killing everything that is good in us,” said 57-year-old Ahmad Barbour, who was outraged by the Israeli police’s actions.
“Everything that is forbidden to us is allowed to them,” he added, referring to the Israelis. The mosque is located in a compound in an area considered holy by both Jews and Muslims, and conflicting claims have sparked violent conflicts in the past. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam and is located on a site known to Jews as the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site for Jews.
Police later used tear gas to disperse protests in east Jerusalem. The Palestinian Red Crescent said its medics treated six injured people, with at least one beaten by Israeli police.
In Beirut, thousands of Hezbollah supporters waved Lebanese, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, chanting slogans in support of Gaza and chanting “death to Israel”. This Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon has carried out attacks on Israel following the Hamas attack, but has not engaged in open war with the Israeli military.
However, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary general warned that the group will “watch” US and British naval vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. US officials, including President Joe Biden, have repeatedly warned Iran and Tehran-backed militant groups in the Middle East not to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“Your warships and statements do not scare us,” Naim Kassim told a rally south of Beirut. “Hezbollah will watch the enemy’s steps and we are on full alert. If necessary, we will take action at the right time.” In Baghdad, tens of thousands of people gathered in Tahrir Square for protests called by influential Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr.
“Let this protest terrify the great evil, America, which supports Zionist terrorism against our beloved people in Palestine,” al-Sadr said in a statement published online.
Protests were held across Iran, a supporter of Hamas and Israel’s regional foe, against airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. In Tehran, the country’s capital, they burned the Israeli and American flags, chanting: “Death to Israel”, “Death to America”.
“The Palestinian people are fed up, now you want to destroy Gaza, people’s homes,” Iran’s hardline president Ebrahim Raisi said during a speech in a southern province. “The people of the world and those of Palestine will cause you trouble.”
Protests in support of Palestinians in Pakistan
In Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, which is controlled by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who are at war with a Saudi-led coalition, live television footage showed protesters lining the streets waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags. . The slogan of the rebels has long been: “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; victory for Islam.”
After prayers in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, some worshipers stepped on American and Israeli flags in a sign of anger. Protests there ended peacefully, although larger protests are expected later in the day.
“The media and international courts are turning a blind eye to the injustices being done to Palestinians. They are only highlighting the actions Palestinians are taking to protect themselves,” said Faheem Ahmed, a Muslim believer from Karachi. “They call it terrorism. Today, Friday, we ask Allah to help and raise Palestine and destroy Israel,” he said.