Mapping the conflict in Israel and Gaza
Protests and public demonstrations — both pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel — have rippled around the world over the war in Gaza, data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) shows, with fighting unabated in the sixth week since the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have staged protests in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul and Washington in the past weeks, calling for a ceasefire after Israel's intense bombing and ground invasion that Gaza medical authorities say have killed more than 11,000 people, around 40% of them children.
Pro-Israel protestors have called for the release of hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attacks across southern Israel, which killed around 1,200 people in the deadliest day in Israel's 75 year history, according to Israel's tally. Another 240 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
ACLED's data, which covers demonstrations between Oct. 7 and 27, records that most demonstrations have been peaceful, but about 5% have turned violent or been broken up by police or other security agencies.
The majority of demonstrations — about 86% — recorded by ACLED were pro-Palestinian, while a small minority were neutral, calling for peace and a ceasefire without taking an explicit pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian stance
The largest number of demonstrations it recorded globally were directly after Israeli defence forces ordered Gazans to evacuate the northern half of the enclave on Oct. 13 and after the controversial blast at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17, which Hamas attributed to Israeli forces. Israel and many western nations have strongly disputed the claim Israel was responsible for the strike.
While protests in cities such as London, Berlin and Washington received most media attention in the West, most demonstrations recorded by ACLED were in the Middle East and North Africa, predominantly Islamic areas where protestors were overwhelming pro-Palestinian.
Demonstrations have been especially frequent in Yemen, Iran, Turkey and Morocco.
Across Europe, major cities have been rankled by protests and counter-protests between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators, some of which turned violent.
In Berlin, ACLED reported hundreds of demonstrators were arrested during multiple protests during October, as pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with police.
In central Paris, thousands marched on Nov. 4 to call for a ceasefire with placards reading "Stop the cycle of violence" and "To do nothing, to say nothing is to be complicit."
French authorities had banned some previous pro-Palestinian gatherings due to concerns about public disorder.
More than 300,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through central London on Saturday, with police arresting over 120 people as they sought to stop far-right counter-protesters from ambushing the main rally.
According to ACLED, the United States was "home to the highest number of counter-demonstrations involving opposing pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protestors."
Pro-Palestinian marches in Washington have been among the biggest for any cause in recent years.
At US universities, duelling groups of student protestors have faced each other in tense standoffs, and there have been reports of harassment and assaults of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students.
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