France bans pro-Palestinian protests amid call for Hamas ‘day of rage’

The order got here as French police have been seen utilizing tear fuel and water cannons to disperse not less than lots of of pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Paris on the identical day. It was additionally issued earlier than French President Emmanuel Macron urged restraint to the nation’s Muslims and Jews in a national address.

“Neither suspicions nor divisions should exist between us as a nation,” Macron mentioned in a televised handle, including that antisemitism “has all the time been the prelude to different types of hatred.” He referred to as for the nation to “condemn terrorism” and defend the nation’s values.

The ban, issued in an order to police prefects all through France, comes as Khaled Meshal, the previous chief of Hamas, urged Muslims worldwide to stage demonstrations in help of Palestinians on Friday. He additionally urged folks residing in nations bordering Israel to affix the preventing in opposition to Israel, in a recorded assertion reported by Reuters this week. “[We must] head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday,” he mentioned.

The assertion has raised considerations about safety in nations with important Jewish populations, comparable to the USA, the place police businesses nationwide have been planning to increase patrols.

Worldwide, the Israel-Gaza battle has triggered pro-Palestinian protests that authorities have sought to discourage.

In Sydney, pro-Palestinian demonstrators scrapped a march after a warning from the native police that the rally can be seen as unauthorized, the Guardian reported. In Britain, Dwelling Secretary Suella Braverman warned demonstrators in opposition to waving the Palestinian flag to justify terror acts in opposition to Israelis. In New York, pro-Palestinian protesters stood off with pro-Israel protesters, native media reported.