Pro-Palestinian supporters in Cape Town have called for an end to what they say appears to be the global ambivalence toward the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Supporters of the Quds march, which takes place on the last Friday of Ramadan, have also called on government to sever all ties with Israel.
Leader of the Qibla Movement, Imam Ahmed Cassiem, says the march is aimed at raising awareness about oppressed people globally.
“Quds Day is the day of unity and solidarity to all the oppressed masses across the world. So it’s solidarity with Venezuela, with Yemen, with Libya, with Sudan. The unity of the oppressed masses is essential if we are to make any progress in getting rid of the colonial, imperialists and neo -colonial system. Without the unity of the oppressed, we are bound to fail.”
A group of pro-Palestinian organisations marched to Parliament on Friday to mark Quds Day to show solidarity with Palestinians.
The march is held annually on the last Friday of Ramadan to express solidarity with Palestinian People and to call for an end to the occupation of Palestine.
Young and old have come out in their numbers with some wearing Free Palestine T-shirts and marching with Palestinian flags.
Renaming of Sandton Drive
In Johannesburg, the march took place outside the Johannesburg City Council on Friday to call for the renaming of Sandton Drive after Palestinian resistance icon Leila Khaled.
In 2018 the Johannesburg City Council adopted a motion to rename Sandton Drive after Khaled dubbed “the poster girl of the Palestinian struggle”.
The motion was brought to council by the ANC’s Al-Jamaah and EFF and was passed with an easy majority.
Quds Day rally in Iran
Thousands of Iranians joined annual rallies in support of the Palestinian cause on Friday, rejecting a US peace plan President Donald Trump has dubbed the “deal of the century”.
The Quds (Jerusalem) Day commemorations, which are held on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, were launched by Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and are held by pro-Iranian groups across the region.
Demonstrators burnt US and Israeli flags and effigies of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
They held up posters reading “Quds, the eternal capital of Palestine” and “no to the deal of the century”.
In similar protests in Baghdad, flags of the United States and the Jewish state were set ablaze and portraits of Trump and Netanyahu trampled as pro-Iranian militias marched through the streets.
