DUBAI, 25 January 2008 — Hundreds of people gathered in Sharjah to protest the continuing international blockade of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening.
The Committee for Anti-Normalization of Ties With Israel organized the rally, which was held at the Qanat Al-Qasba area.
Participants were carrying placards with slogans such as “Gazans’ want of food and medicines will not break their resistance” written on them. Another slogan, “Gaza’s catastrophe: Arabs denounce and on others they depend,” implied that Arab leaders are relying on others to solve the Palestinian problem.
Chanting “Haniyeh, Abbas, national unity,” the protesters urged the Palestinian leadership to unite.
During the peaceful protest that went on for a couple of hours members from several NGOs gave speeches.
Mohammed Al-Rukn, chairman of the Jurists Association, described the international blockade against Gaza as akin to the historic boycott against the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the first Muslims in Makkah.
During the beginning of the call to Islam, the tribes of Makkah, in particular the Quraish, were persecuting Muslims. When all other measures failed they ostracized the Muslims and launched a boycott that prohibited the tribes from trading with them. For three years the Muslims and the Prophet’s tribe lived in misery and hunger.
Describing the Israelis as the modern-day Quraish, Al-Rukn said that the Zionists’ aim was to choke all dissenting voices within the occupied Palestinian territories.
“Has demanding back your stolen lands become a crime in the international law?” the lawyer asked.
Al-Rukn described what is happening in the Palestinian territories as genocide. “They want to kill hope; however, they will not be able to do so. The breaking down of the border today is just an example of how hope will continue to live on,” he said.
Following the breach of the wall, the Gazans descended on the Egyptian side of the border and replenished much needed stocks of food, fuel and other essential commodities.
Clad from head to toe in a full burqa, Alaa Al-Sidique, chairwoman of the UAE Female Students Council, denied the accusation that the younger generation had forgotten the Palestinian cause.
Al-Sidique, who is in her second year of university studying Islamic law, said that the youth’s voices have been silenced.
The young woman narrated stories of the suffering of the Palestinians. She then urged the protesters to alleviate their suffering through donations, prayers and creating awareness regarding the Palestinians’ plight.
She concluded her speech with a poem from one of the guards of Al-Aqsa Mosque in which he pleads for help from the Arabs and Muslims.
