Palestinian officials call pro-Palestine protests at universities in US, Europe ‘revolution’

By Savas Guler

KONYA, Türkiye (AA) - Mayors of Palestinian cities of Ramallah and Hebron called the protests against Israel's attacks on Gaza organized in universities in the US and Europe a "revolution."

Ramallah’s Issa Kassis and Tayseer Abu Sneineh visited Türkiye’s central Konya province to attend the 15th General Conference of the Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC).

In an interview with Anadolu, Kassis lauded the pioneering role of young people in the ongoing protests at universities worldwide against Israeli atrocities.

"Young people, who are the most important stakeholders of society, understand us because they are the representatives of the future and our most important ambassadors,” Kassis noted.

“It was the youth who stopped the US occupation of Vietnam in 1960," he said.

"Now again, young people are leading pro-Palestine protests. The world needs to hear this and feels ashamed of themselves," he added.

Sneineh, for his part, said: "Rafah city is only a part of Israeli oppression and massacres. Rafah has a political dimension.”

“Zionists want to make use of the city as political material, hoping that the resistance will step back. But our people will never be defeated, and the resistance will never step back," Sneineh noted.

“The support demonstrations held in the West and the US are a ‘real revolution’ against the Western societies and the US,” Sneineh said.

“These protests are not only a rebellion against Israel but also against guilty Western societies,” said Sneineh, describing the ongoing rallies as “pleasing.”

“Societies and free people around the world stand with Palestine and want Israel's actions to stop. However, major states and governments, especially the US and the UK, do not want this war to end," he added.

Israel has waged a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which killed 1,200 people.

More than 35,230 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, mostly women and children, and over 79,140 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz