from Unicorn Riot

Philadelphia, PA — Hundreds of supporters of Palestinians gathered at Philadelphia City Hall to protest the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, part of a larger conflict that escalated on October 7 when Palestinian militant organizations crossed the “Green Line” that serves as the de facto border between the Strip and Israel. Protests have sometimes been tense in the US; a protest was attacked by an older man driving a vehicle in Minneapolis on October 22. Today’s “emergency rally” was called by the Philly Palestine Coalition.

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Large protests have unfolded in many cities worldwide this week. In recent days Gaza has been extensively bombed and shelled by Israeli forces, while regular rocket and mortar barrages have been directed outwards at Israeli towns and bases. Around 7700 Palestinians have been killed according to reports; communications from the Strip were largely cut off in the last 36 hours. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz 1300 Israelis, both civilian and military, have been killed so far.

TV Host, professor and activist Marc Lamont Hill spoke during the rally and demanded a ceasefire and end to the “occupation” and “an end to apartheid.” See his full speech below.

“Tonight, we demand a ceasefire! Tonight, we demand that no more Palestinian children are killed! … We demand decolonization. We demand an end to the occupation. We demand an end to apartheid.

I can’t get free until you [Palestine] get free! As long as our police are training Israeli officers and as long as Israeli officers are training our officers, we will live in a hyper security state that treats every brown person, every Black person as an outsider, as a threat, as somebody worthy of death.”

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