Panama’s Palestinian community calls for Gaza ceasefire

The Palestinian-Panamanian community organized a  peaceful demonstration on Saturday, August 13  with a caravan of cars that toured Panama to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and demand a ceasefire in Gaza after 100 days  of conflict which has claimed the lives of over 24,000 people, mostly women and children.

Starting from the Paitilla sector on Balboa Avenue, they walked with flags and banners reading:  “End to the Palestinian genocide” and “Support from Panama”. Palestinians living in the country while millions of people in capitals around the world marched with similar messages.

The crisis in  Gaza followed an  October 7 attack by Hamas militias in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel that left over 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians dead and and a few dozen taken hostage.

The roots of the conflict date back to the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 after the Second World War, and the expulsion of the Palestinians from land they called home.

The United Nations and human rights organizations recognize that these people have been stripped of their basic rights such as food, housing, electricity and freedom of expression, which has turned Gaza into the largest “open-air prison” in the world. according to Human Right Watch. 100 days of what is already considered by several countries as a “genocide” which prompted South Africa to file a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice.

Various social organizations in Panama and with Palestine have called for other events this month to demand a ceasefire in Gaza.