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Roundup: Palestinians express solidarity with France after Paris terror attacks

Xinhua, January 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Palestinian authorities, non-government groups and ordinary people have shown their strong support for France on Sunday following the latest terrorist attacks in Paris.

In Gaza city, dozens of Palestinians lit candles in front of the French culture center, which, in the past three months, was targeted twice by bombing attacks.

Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian non-government organization network which organized the activity, told reporters that "the Palestinian people reject any type of terrorism and we express our full solidarity with the victims."

"We certainly condemn violence and terrorism against civilians whatever the justifications are," said Shawa, adding that "in spite of our people's pain and what we face on daily bases, we feel others' pain and sufferings."

The participants waved the Palestinian and French flags and carried banners condemning extremism, violence and the Israeli military occupation.

Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip since June 2007, had also condemned the Paris attacks on civilians.

Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians rallied in the West Bank city of Ramallah to express solidarity with France. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) called for the rally in Ramallah.

Several Palestinian political factions joined the rally and expressed their deep grief for the victims.

Abbas Zakki, a senior official in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Fatah Party, told Xinhua that "the aggression directed at the French people is an aggression on the Palestinian people."

Journalists and writers also joined the rally in Ramallah in solidarity with their French colleagues.

"Palestinian journalists also face terrorism. Therefore, we understand what it means to practice terrorism against the journalists," Abdul Nasser Najjar, head of the Palestinian Journalists Union told Xinhua.

Earlier on Sunday, Abbas joined a large rally in Paris, where many other world leaders gathered to condemn the latest wave of terrorist attacks.

On Saturday, Abbas held a telephone conversation with French President Francois Hollande, and conveyed the support of the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people to France, according to earlier local news agency Wafa report.

Abbas told Hollande that "terrorism has no faith," and expressed his grief for those who were killed in the terrorist attacks.

"Facing violence and racism as well as hatred needs a lot of cooperation and needs to deepen dialogues among religions all over the world," Abbas told Holland over phone. Endit