Pro-Palestine demonstration in Msida: 'Let us live in our country first and then talk about peace'

The Arabic Culture Information Society (ACIS) organised a demonstration on Saturday afternoon at the Msida Square, protesting against the military attacks at the Gaza Strip.

The Society said that it is protesting the “indiscriminate bombardment and unlawful siege” of civilians in the Gaza Strip which they said became an open-air prison with 2.2 million inhabitants.

“Many lives will be lost if the international community remains silent especially after the blockage of supply of water, electricity, fuel, food and medical supplies. More than 270,000 people are being housed in schools and entire neighborhoods are being wiped daily,” ACIS said.

The Arabic Culture Information Society (ACIS) organised a demonstration on Saturday afternoon at the Msida Square, protesting against the military attacks at the Gaza Strip (Photo: Luke Vella/MaltaToday)

The demonstrators who gathered in Msida with flags of Palestine chanted, “Free, free Palestine” and “End the genocide”.

ACIS President Sanaa El Nahhal thanked the Maltese for “crying with the Palestinians”.

“Palestinian children, women and men are being killed and Palestine is being destroyed […] Palestine is our land and Palestinians have always been living there. We never took the land away from someone else,” Sanaa said.

She said that there will be another demonstration in Valletta on Tuesday between 3.30pm and 5.30pm.

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have told people in the north of the Gaza strip that between 10am and 4pm local time there will be two safe routes for them to move south.

The region has been mired in violence in recent days, with Hamas fighters reportedly kidnapping at least 150 people during brutal attacks on Israel over the weekend, which resulted in the loss of 1,300 lives.

Since Israel's retaliatory air strikes commenced, more than 2,200 people have lost their lives in Gaza, and over 8,700 have been wounded.

Reports indicate that a total blockade is being enforced on Gaza, leading to critical shortages of essential resources such as fuel, food, and water.

Hanan, a Palestinian-Maltese woman who lived in Gaza said that Israel is killing Palestinians daily.

"Palestinians suffer every day. I was living in the Gaza Strip in 2008 and 2012. Believe me I didn't know whether I would wake up alive or dead," she said.

"It is our right to stay in our country. Everybody says there should be two states and peace. But I say, Tell that to Israel […] Pr.”

The Arabic Culture Information Society (ACIS) organised a demonstration on Saturday afternoon at the Msida Square, protesting against the military attacks at the Gaza Strip (Photo: Luke Vella/MaltaToday)

She said that there are many Palestinians in Malta who are not being accepted back as refugees in their country. “I prefer to die with my family there than in front of a TV here,” Hana said.

Bader Zina, a Maltese-Palestinian said that atrocities are being carried out against Palestinians.

He emphasised to those that gathered to protest, to portray a wise and non-violent message.

“The media is the biggest tool that we have – so let’s push messages that help the cause,” Bader said.
Earlier in the day the United States negotiated a temporary opening at the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt for U.S. citizens in Gaza seeking to leave, a senior State Department official said.

The routes, one along the coast and one down the centre of the Gaza Strip, were laid out in a tweet from IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee.

“For your safety, take advantage of the short time to move south,” the message said. On Friday the Israeli military gave Gazans a 24-hour deadline to evacuate the north ahead of an expected ground operation, however, the lack of fuel, electricity and bad internet connections means people in the strip have very little access to social media.

The UN warned that the order to flee en masse would be calamitous, and urged Israel to reverse its order. It was also widely criticised by international and humanitarian organisations as too brief to allow evacuation.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is warning that “more than 2 million people are at risk as water runs out” in Gaza.

“It has become a matter of life and death. It is a must; fuel needs to be delivered now into Gaza to make water available for 2 million people,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general.