PARIS, October 12 French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin issued a ban to any protests in support of Palestine, saying that the organizers and instigators of the riots will be arrested.
“The minister ordered a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations because they could create risks for public order,” Agence France-Presse reports, citing a document sent by the minister to prefects.
“The organization of such prohibited demonstrations will lead to arrests,” the text says.
It is noted that the arrests will affect both the organizers of the actions and the instigators of the riots.
Earlier, the Prefecture of Paris banned a rally in support of Palestine on Thursday. Since Monday, such rallies, also prohibited by regional law enforcement services, have taken place in Marseille, Lyon and Nantes. All of them were dispersed by the police.
On the morning of October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. In addition, after massive rocket attacks, the organization’s fighters penetrated into the border areas in southern Israel. In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within days of the attack, the Israeli military took control of all settlements near the Gaza border and began conducting air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was suspended.
The number of civilian deaths on each side exceeded a thousand, and several thousand Israelis and Palestinians were injured. Including reports of several dead and missing Russians, as well as citizens of other countries. According to various sources, about 150 Israelis may be held captive by Hamas.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created. Israel, while declaring agreement with the two-state principle, did not completely liberate the Palestinian territories.