{"id":13015,"date":"2023-10-11T04:21:07","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T04:21:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/arab-backing-for-palestinians-grows\/"},"modified":"2023-10-11T04:21:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T04:21:07","slug":"arab-backing-for-palestinians-grows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/arab-backing-for-palestinians-grows\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab backing for Palestinians grows"},"content":{"rendered":"

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BEIRUT: In mosques, football stadiums and towns across the Arab world, pro-Palestinian sentiment has surged after the Hamas raid on Israel, sparking a groundswell of solidarity for Palestinians.<\/p>\n

From Ramallah to Beirut, Damascus, Bagh\u00addad and Cairo, people have distributed sweets, danced and chanted prayers in support of the resistance to Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian land.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy entire life, I have seen Israel kill us, confiscate our lands and arrest our children,\u201d said Farah Al Saadi, a 52-year-old coffee vendor from Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pleased by what Hamas did,\u201d said the man, whose son is in Israeli detention, adding however that he feared the scale of \u201cIsraeli crimes in Gaza\u201d in retaliation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do not think there is a single Palestinian who does not support what happened,\u201d said Issam Abu Bakr, a Palestinian official in occupied West Bank.<\/p>\n

The Hamas attack was a \u201cnatural reaction to the crimes committed by Israel\u201d, which has \u201cturned its back on the political negotiation process\u201d, he added.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Die silently\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hours after the raid began on Saturday, Palesti\u00adnian supporters distributed sweets in south Lebanon and in Beirut.<\/p>\n

Israel and Lebanon are still technically at war and Israeli troops occupied the country\u2019s south for 22 years.<\/p>\n

Residents of the southern port city of Sidon set off firecrackers and gathered in public squares as mosques blasted chants praising \u201cPalestinian resistance fighters who are writing the most wonderful, heroic epic\u201d.<\/p>\n

A rally<\/a> was held at the American University of Beirut, where 18-year-old Palestinian student Reem Sobh said: \u201cWe are unable to carry weapons but at least, we are able to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n

TORONTO: Demonstrators wave Palestinian flags during a protest in Canada on Tuesday. \u2014 AFP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

On Instagram, Leba\u00adnese comedian Shaden Fakih explained the wave of support widely condemned in the West.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you expect from Palestinians? To get killed every day and not do anything about it\u2026 to die silently?\u201d she said in a video.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will carry arms and fight back. This is their right,\u201d she added, noting that she \u201ccan be against Hamas and still support any armed resistance against the oppressor, against (Israeli) apartheid\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the Tunisian capital, schools raised Palestinian flags and a coalition of organisations and political parties have called for massive solidarity rallies.<\/p>\n

The presidency declared its \u201cfull and unconditional support of the Palestinian people\u201d and of their right to resist occupation.<\/p>\n

\u2019Nothing to lose<\/strong>\u2019<\/p>\n

In Damascus, the Palestinian flag lit up the city\u2019s opera house.<\/p>\n

Syrian university em\u00adplo\u00adyee Marah Sulei\u00adman, 42, said the Hamas attack \u201cstirred up a feeling within us that had not been moved for many years, and revived the spirit of resistance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Palestinians \u201chave nothing to lose after all the killing, destruction and displacement they have been subjected to\u201d, she said. In Egypt, which bans unauthorised protests, foot\u00adball fans turned matches into displays of solidarity, with pro-Palestinian chants.<\/p>\n

In the war-scarred Iraqi capital Baghdad, paramilitaries trampled and tor\u00adch\u00aded Israeli flags during rallies in Tahrir Square.<\/p>\n

Even Gulf states joined the wave of solidarity despite the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalise relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in 2020.<\/p>\n

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n