PARIS (Reuters) - Several thousand people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday to show solidarity with the Palestinians and denounce an Israeli raid on a Turkish aid boat bound for Gaza, with some Jews participating alongside Muslims.
Protesters gathered in the Bastille area, in a rally which included Palestinian flags and one banner saying "French Jewish Union For Peace" with around 100 French Jews following it. It was not clear just how many were there in total.
"I think the blockade of Gaza is counter-productive for Israel," Michel Bontemps, a French Jew, told Reuters Television.
"Showing solidarity with the Palestinians in no way means you are a terrorist," added Youssef Ben Derbal, a French national who was on the Turkish aid ship seized by Israeli forces earlier this week.
On Saturday, Israel's navy boarded another aid ship to enforce its blockade of Gaza five days after its troops killed nine people on the Turkish aid boat, despite America saying the policy was "unsustainable."
In Dublin, hundreds of people marched through the city center to protest against the seizure of the Rachel Corrie by Israel which carried Irish and other activists. The demonstrators headed for the foreign ministry, which has not commented on the boarding of the ship.
"(I came) to voice my absolute disgust at what the Israeli government has been at, kidnapping our citizens," said John Buckley, a college lecturer who took part in the protest.
"The Israelis have no right to intercept ships in the middle of the sea and they have no right to implement the blockade in the first place, it's completely illegal," he said.
In London, thousands of protesters wearing t-shirts with slogans like "Free Gaza" converged outside the prime minister's official residence at Downing Street, before staging a noisy march to the Israeli embassy.
(Reporting by Reuters Television, writing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
(Additional reporting by Andras Gergely in Dublin and Estelle Shirbon in London)
http://www.reuters.com / Bulgaria Today
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