Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – Thousands of people across the Middle East protested Friday against Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip as the Jewish state massed tanks and troops outside Gaza and the military said it was calling up 16,000 reservists, signs of a possible imminent invasion of the Palestinian enclave. Palestinian sources said that hundreds of Palestinians rallied following Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex in Jerusalem's Old City. They said that dozens of Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces near the Adam settlement north of occupied Jerusalem. Mohammed Braijeyeh, the spokesman of the Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements in Bethlehem, said that clashes also erupted between Palestinians in Al-Mi'sarah village and the Aidah refugee camp near the city. In Cairo, several thousand protesters gathered outside Al-Azhar mosque after weekly Friday prayers and chanted “We will go to Gaza in our millions,” swearing to “sacrifice ourselves for you, Palestine.” President Mohamed Morsi himself branded the Israeli assault in which 23 Palestinians have been killed as a “blatant aggression against humanity” and promised that “Egypt will not leave Gaza on its own,” MENA news agency said. “Egypt will not hesitate to intensify its efforts and make sacrifices to stop this aggression and achieve a lasting truce,” he said. In Lebanon, thousands turned out for demonstrations in Palestinian refugee camps in the north and south of the country in outrage at the assault, echoing the calls from Ramallah. In Tunis, 3,000 to 4,000 people demonstrated after Friday prayers in the center of the capital in protests called by the ruling Islamist party Ennahda. Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki expressed “solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people.” Israel continued its bombardment Friday and said it was considering launching a ground offensive into the Hamas-controlled territory. Public statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggest such an escalation has preliminary cabinet approval. Among units already garrisoned outside Gaza is Israel's paratrooper brigade whose commander, Colonel Amir Baram, said last month that in planning tactics he had studied World War One skirmishes in Gaza between British forces and the Ottoman Turks. – With agencies
