May 16, 2018•Update: May 17, 2018
By Hajer M'tiri
PARIS
Thousands of people gathered Wednesday evening at Trocadero Square in Paris to support Palestinians and condemn Israel’s deadly assaults at the border of the Gaza Strip.
Groups behind the demonstration demanded in a statement that the Israeli occupiers stop their attacks on Palestinian civilians and urged French President Emmanuel Macron to "sanction" Israel.
Protesters shouted anti-U.S. and anti-Israel slogans as well as messages of solidarity with the Palestinians participating in the Great March of Return.
The crowds carried signs calling for a boycott of Israel saying "Terrorist Israel" and "Stop the Israeli massacres."
Other signs called for "Freedom for Palestine" and "Justice and Freedom for Palestine."
On Monday, at least 62 Palestinian demonstrators were martyred and thousands more injured by Israeli troops deployed along the other side of the border.
Monday’s demonstration coincided with Israel’s 70th anniversary -- an event Palestinians refer to as Al-Nakba (the Catastrophe) -- and the relocation of Washington’s Israel embassy to Jerusalem.
"France must condemn the massacres at Gaza. The Israeli ambassador to Paris must be summoned to the Elysee to explain himself. Peace dies under the blows of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon tweeted on Monday.
Former socialist presidential candidate Benoit Hamon called on the European Union and France to recognize the Palestinian state.
Since the Gaza rallies began on March 30, more than 100 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred by cross-border Israeli army gunfire.
Last week, the Israeli government claimed the ongoing border protests constitute a “state of war” in which international humanitarian law does not apply.
