ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — As thousands gathered in southern Israel on Tuesday to commemorate victims on the second anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, protesters in Indonesia rallied to condemn the war in Gaza — a conflict that has devastated the territory, claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled violence across the Middle East.
More than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia's capital of Jakarta to denounce Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the detention of activists from the Global Sumud Flotilla that tried to break through the siege last week.
Chanting “Free free Palestine” and waving flags, demonstrators called for the activists’ release and condemned two years of Israeli military action in Gaza.
Authorities in Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim majority nation and one that has no formal ties with Israel — deployed over 1,000 police to secure the embassy.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 people in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that came during a major Jewish holiday. Most have been released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 67,000 people, destroyed vast areas of the strip, displaced around 90% of the population of some 2 million and caused a humanitarian crisis, with experts saying Gaza City is experiencing famine.
The conflict sent ripples across the region, bringing Israel into combat with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as well as militant groups in Iraq and Syria, and their patron, Iran, which suffered major losses in a 12-day war with Israel in June.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer criticized pro-Palestinian protests planned at universities across the country on the anniversary of the attacks, calling them “un-British.”
Writing in The Times newspaper, Starmer warned that such demonstrations risk fueling hate speech and antisemitism.
“This is not who we are as a country. It’s un-British to have so little respect for others,’’ he said. “And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred toward Jewish people all over again.”
Starmer’s intervention comes at a tense moment for Britain, just days after a naturalized citizen of Syrian origin launched a terror attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester. Two men were killed in the attack and three others were seriously injured.
In the aftermath of the assault, British authorities have stepped up security around synagogues and criticized the rise of antisemitism in society. The government is also considering giving police new powers to restrict repeated protests that have a negative cumulative impact on the community.
Later in the day, in Istanbul, where public support for Palestinians runs deep, the iconic stone tower, the Galata Tower, will be illuminated with the colors of the Palestinian flag to draw attention to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Turkey’s Tourism and Culture Ministry said.
Turkish authorities meanwhile, canceled a concert in Istanbul by British artist Robbie Williams that was scheduled for Tuesday evening, over security concerns.
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Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini in Jakarta and Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.