Police use pepper spray on pro-Palestinian protesters in Iceland

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Icelandic police used pepper spray on pro-Palestinian protesters who took to the streets of the capital Reykjavik against the government’s inaction against Israeli brutal assault on Gaza, local media reported on Friday.

The group behind the protest, called the Iceland-Palestine Association, attempted to block traffic this morning demanding that the Icelandic state impose trade restrictions on Israel and end political relations with the country, according to public broadcaster RUV.

This is the second protest to take place this week, after a group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators staged a sit-in protest in the lobby of the Foreign Ministry Thursday.

The group established itself in the lobby of the ministry, with their stated goal to disrupt the normal functioning of authorities until they act, said RUV.

The protest is not led by a specific organization, but rather a group of local residents who oppose the government's inaction on Palestine, Salvor Gullbra Thorarinsdottir, one of the protesters, told the broadcaster.

"Now 234 days have passed since the escalating genocide of the Palestinian people and the Icelandic authorities have done nothing to prevent it," Thorarinsdottir added.

She pointed out that the government has talked about wanting a cease-fire in Gaza "or insisting that they aim for peace and a two-state solution, but these are all empty words and no actions follow."

Thorarinsdottir referred to the Israeli army's recent attack on Rafah as "a horrible attack where people were burned alive." For her and others taking part in the protest, this marked a tipping point.

Israel continues bombarding southern Gaza's city of Rafah, which shelters hundreds of thousands of civilians, despite international condemnation.

RUV reported that the protesters have several demands.

They want Iceland to impose trade sanctions on Israel and sever political ties.

Furthermore, the Iceland-Palestine Association demands that the government support South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and that Foreign Minister Gylfadottir initiates dialogue with other Nordic nations, as well as Ireland and Spain, to coordinate actions.

Norway, Spain, and Ireland have formally recognized Palestine as a state on Tuesday in what Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a "historic decision."

It is therefore Iceland's duty to coordinate actions with these countries, given that it also recognized Palestine in 2011, the protesters demanded.

Since Israel started its brutal offensive on Gaza more than 36,200 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 81,700 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.