As part of a growing call for European governments to push for the protection of the Palestinians from Israeli violence in the occupied territories, some 4,500 pairs of shoes were laid yesterday at the European Council building in Brussels to commemorate Palestinians killed in the past 10 years.
The unusual protest was organized by a global activist group ahead of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels to urge them to take action over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Citizens across Europe have one clear message for our governments: Palestinian lives matter to us, and they need to matter to you.
As Israel’s largest trading partner and political ally, it is our moral responsibility to send a clear signal to Netanyahu’s government that the violence must stop,” Avaaz Campaign Director, Christoph Schott, said, as reported by TeleSur English.
“What is happening in Palestine is a modern-day apartheid, and for Europe to turn a blind eye to that does not protect Israel: it only undermines our humanity.”
According to the U.N., over the past seven weeks, over 100 Palestinian demonstrators have died at the hands of the Israeli military.
Among the dead are children, journalists, medics and many young unemployed men. Approximately, 12,000 have been injured. Over 1,000 children have been injured by Israeli forces in the besieged Gaza Strip during demonstrations, according to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Source: DS
