'End the occupation from Metula to Rafah'
Arab students protesting at Tel Aviv University call for an end to the 'daily executions and occupation' while glorifying the blood of 'martyrs' and their significance to al-Aqsa.
Dozens of Arab students protested outside Tel Aviv University on Tuesday against what they termed "settlements, arrests, the Jewdiazation of Jerusalem, and the daily executions of Palestinian people."
The protesters carried Palestinian flags and shouted slogans against Israel, including, "Occupation is terror, no excuse is fair."
Among other things, they also shouted, "We are not afraid, Israel is a terrorist state. Raise the flag of revolution across the occupied land – from Metula to Rafah. Raise the flag of revolution in Jaffa, Haifa, and Gaza."
"We are protesting against the occupation, against the settlements, and against what's happening in Jerusalem," said Tareq, one of the protesters, adding that, "The security forces have shot innocent civilians. When a Palestinian is killed, Israelis call it terror, and the other side calls it revenge. We view both as murder, and we are against terror and killing, but we are also against settlements and the occupation."
Wasim Hajo, who also took part in the protest said, "We came to protest against the situation that has emerged in Jerusalem and the rest of Palestine over the last few weeks. We came to protest against the Israeli government's actions in relation to the al-Aqsa mosque, and the attempts to alter the status-quo."
"We came to protest the occupation and demand its end. We were yelling that the Palestinian people are united across religions and societal lines. We said that the doors to al-Aqsa were made of steel, and that the blood of the martyrs is the key to these doors," he continued.
When asked about the terror attacks which took place in recent weeks he said that, "We didn’t come to talk about that."
Across from the rally stood dozens of right wing activists who waved Israeli flags and held up signs which read, 'Inciting on the taxpayer's dime,' 'you should be ashamed,' 'liars,' and 'terrorist supporters.'
"They are protesting the fact that our security forces are shooting people who attempt to murder innocent civilians. We do not execute anyone. No one is taking the law into their own hands. We have laws. Jerusalem is and was always the Jewish people's capital," said Lev Solodukin, a right wing activist.
"These students are leaving a stain which marks many Arab students who aren’t looking to take part in this kind of provocations. They are provocateurs, and are marking all of the Arab students as supporters of terror," he added.
Another activist said, "They support the martyrs and the terror, and they aren’t ashamed to stand here and say as much."
Hassan Shaalan contributed to this article.
