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Israel moves in despite protests
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Israel's ground operation to seize parts of Gaza is under way despite a day of demonstrations in Britain and around the world calling for an end to the violence.
Israeli troops entered Gaza on Saturday night just hours after PM Gordon Brown had spoken to his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert to call for a halt to the action and to stem the death toll and allow humanitarian supplies in.
On Saturday, police said at least 10,000 protesters had packed London's Trafalgar Square - although rally organisers claimed at least six times that number.
Hundreds of shoes were thrown at the gates of Downing Street during the march there, led by singer Annie Lennox, with demonstrators chanting "Shame on you, have my shoe" and "Brown terrorist".
The main protest passed off peacefully but there was a more heated atmosphere later when several thousand protesters descended on the Israeli Embassy in Kensington.
Police wearing body armour and armed with truncheons and gas canisters apprehended a number of people as they attempted to hurdle barriers set up to keep them away from the building and threw fireworks.
Eyewitnesses among the protesters also claimed that a number of people, including children, were thrown to the ground during clashes in the underpass at Hyde Park at the end of a march and rally.
Police made several arrests, claiming protesters made repeated attempts to break through the barriers and throw missiles outside the embassy in south Kensington.
As part of a worldwide day of protest, hundreds more marched in Scottish and Irish cities as well as in Bristol and Portsmouth - where organisers were surprised to attract 10 times the 50 or so expected to turn out.
Overnight, Israel's military said ground forces were crossing the Gaza border, in an expansion of Israel's week-old offensive against Hamas. Israeli TV channels broadcast images of troops marching into Gaza after nightfall.
Reader views (6)
Israel entirely withdrew all of its forces and citizens from Gaza in 2005.
Since that time, Hamas has repeatedly and without reason fired missiles and rockets into Israel at civilian targets making life for people in Israel within range of these attacks intolerable. In other words, since Israel no longer occupies any part of Gaza, these Hamas rocket attacks have no other function than to murder innocent civilians for no other reason than that they are Israelis.
These attacks have continued even during so called "truce" periods and the Israelis have, until now, shown remarkable restraint (in fact, they have been supplying electricity, water etc. to Gaza throughout) but have warned Hamas that this must stop or that they must face the consequences. The actions being taken by Israel now would have been taken by any other normal sovereign country long before this had their citizens been subjected to the same unprovoked attacks that the Israeli citizens in the south of the country have been continuously subjected to by these murderous rocket attacks by Hamas etc.
Taking all of the above into consideration, what exactly would these protesters suggest that Israel do - "turn the other cheek" and allow these rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel continue without reaction?
- Steve, Biel, Switzerland, 02/01/2009 19:38
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Hamas never had a chance of bombing Israel into submission,nevertheless they chose to site their missile launchers in heavily populated areas and continued to goad Israel into into retaliation.Presto!!Israel retaliates and suddenly they're the bad guys.
- Jeremiah, London, 02/01/2009 18:49
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Where were these protesters when the rockets were raining down on a daily basis and buses in Israel being targeted by suicide bombers?
Remember the Palestinians dancing in the streets when Saddam Hussein's Scud missiles were falling on Israel in 1992?
- Bryan, Kent, 02/01/2009 17:08
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The ignorance of these people who are asking for Israel to stop it's attack on the Gaza strip,just goes to show that they understand nothing about what is going on in Israel and the gaza strip.
Tell them to go to Sderot and wait for the incoming rockets and missiles.
- David Nigel Braham, Milan Italy, 02/01/2009 16:53
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same old rag bag of yesterdays riffraff , is it a line up of a new pop group, if so what should we call them, ANNIE LENNOX AND THE APPEASERS sounds about right.
- Jack, brigg, 02/01/2009 15:37
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Mmmmm........honeymoon over before it's even begun.
- Andy, London, 02/01/2009 15:10
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