22 July 2006WAFA Palestine News Agency
Thousands of Israeli left-wing activists, including many Arab citizens of Israel, marched Saturday evening from the Rabin Square to the Cinematheque plaza in Tel Aviv in protest of the fighting in Lebanon, Ynet Israeli news service reported Saturday. The protestors held up signs with slogans against the war and called for an immediate ceasefire, said Ynet. Marchers urged Israeli soldiers not to take part in the Lebanon operation, chanting: "Listen up, soldier - it's your duty to refuse." Other slogans recited by the participants were: "The occupation is a disaster, leave Lebanon now," and "Children in Beirut and Haifa want to go on living." Former Israeli Education Minister Shulamit Aloni, who spoke in the demonstration, said that "the government has allowed the destructive powers of the army to drag us into the killing. The Defense Forces cannot be tuned into the army of occupation and killing. We must call in international forces, negotiate and make peace."
