TOKYO: Several hundred Japanese and foreign residents gathered in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on Sunday, calling for peace in the Middle East as Israel prepares to move on Gaza in its war against Hamas.
The demonstrators expressed concern for the civilian population of Gaza after Israel warned people to move from northern Gaza to the south. Protesters raised their voices to denounce Israel’s move to cut electricity, water and food in the Palestinian territory.
Shigenobu Mei, an activist for Palestinian rights, told participants that 300 Palestinians had been killed on Saturday, bringing the total to 2,500.
One woman, who said she was from “the West,” said the “double standards” were upsetting: “I see Israeli flags next to Ukrainian flags and my heart breaks when I see that. The double standards that are hitting the eyes and people don’t see that, Westerners don’t see that. So, I ask all Westerners to finally open their eyes and to be more objective to what is happening.”
A Palestinian resident in Japan from the Aifa region told Arab News Japan that she had a friend who is currently in Gaza, but whom she can no longer contact due to power cuts.
She said she regretted the fact that the situation so badly affected the civilian population. She asked the Japanese media for better coverage of the problem and said that the Palestinian problem was not only a Middle Eastern problem but an international problem that could affect the West.
An Egyptian couple who work in Japan hoped that the Japanese government would act for the Palestinians who are deprived of basic living necessities, saying Israel had been committing crimes against humanity.
* This article originally appeared on Arab News Japan, click here to read it.
