Around 100 people gathered in Vilnius on Wednesday evening to protest Israel’s actions in Gaza, marking the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The organisers say the rally is an expression of solidarity with the Palestinian people and a tribute to those who have died as a result of Israel’s military action in Gaza and the West Bank.
“We want to send a message that war crimes and crimes against humanity should not occur in the modern world. Unfortunately, they are being committed by Israel in Palestine right now and have been committed for a long time since the establishment of Israel,” Andrius Mažeika, one of the organisers, told BNS on Wednesday.
Protesters, carrying Palestinian flags, gathered in the central Cathedral Square. People chanted “stop the genocide” and some held placards reading “End the occupation”, “Free Palestine”.
Participants of the rally were met by a group of Israel’s supporters waving the Israeli flag.
“These are criminals, and the people who have gathered here support the criminals,” Arkadijus, a 66-year-old pensioner on the pro-Israeli side, told reporters.
Israel’s supporters kept interrupting the pro-Palestinian protesters, shouting “Hamas loves you”.
The protest was organised by several organisations, including Fridays for Future and Gyvenimas Per Brangus (Life is too Expensive).
Mažeika also said that the rally’s message was that the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to “guarantee the dignity, human rights and freedom of the Palestinians”.
“In that case, we will no longer have to talk about Hamas, the IDF (The Israel Defense Forces) or war,” he said.
Justina Kaluinaitė, a 35 -year-old working in development cooperation, noted that Palestinians were deprived of security, food, and water, adding that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip had caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
“We have situations where other people are dying as a result of man-made situations,” she told BNS.
“It’s terrible, it’s incomprehensible to me how this can go on for so long,” she added.
From the Cathedral Square, protesters marched along Gedimino Avenue to Kudirkos Square where a tribute was held for those killed.
The demonstrators marched chanting “Stop bombing children” and “Palestine will be free”.
At the square, participants lit candles, made speeches and urged people to be critical of the media’s coverage of the conflict.
More than a month ago, a “march of silence” was held in Vilnius to show solidarity with the Palestinian victims.
Similar solidarity rallies in response to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas took place in major European cities, including London, Milan, Paris, Rome.
Previously, pro-Israel solidarity events were also organised in the Lithuanian capital.
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