Several hundred people turned out Tuesday evening for a demonstration in Oslo against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas. After gathering in front of the Norwegian Parliament they marched up to the Israeli Embassy that’s located right behind Norway’s Royal Palace.
The demonstration was organized by a Palestinian organization in Oslo to mark Nakba-dagen, the day 70 years ago when Israel was established and Palestinians were sent into refugee camps and settlements. Tensions are as high as ever, as Palestinians continue to live in difficult conditions, not least in Gaza, and Jerusalem remains a divided city.
“Yesterday Israel celebrated its 70th anniversary by killing 61 people and injuring more than 2,000 in Gaza,” yelled the leader of a Norwegian commission on Palestine, Tora Systad Tyssen. The Palestinians are not terrorists, she claimed, but rather “fellow human beings who remain imprisoned in Gaza.”
Petter Eide, a Member of Parliament for the Socialist Left party, said he was proud to also be among those addressing “so many friends of the Palestinians” after the group had moved up to the Israeli Embassy. He said he was also glad the demonstration was “calm and professional, and that we use good arguments when we show our solidarity with the Palestinian people:”
The US Embassy had sent out a warning Tuesday afternoon about the demonstration to all American citizens in Oslo who are registered with the embassy, and urged its own personnel to “avoid the area” around the Parliament, the Palace grounds and the Israeli Embassy from 5-7pm. US President Donald Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem was not popular in Norway, and prompted criticism from top political leaders as well.
newsinenglish.no staff