More than 300 Thai Muslims and Palestinians gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok on Saturday to condemn Israel and the United States for the ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip and demand that Israel stop “genocide”.
The demonstrators, many of them Muslims from five southern border provinces and Palestinians living in Thailand, rallied outside the embassy at the Ocean Tower II building on Sukhumvit Soi 21 in Watthana district at around 9.30am.
The gathering was held amid tight security by a company of police officers who were deployed to maintain order. Traffic police were also on hand to manage traffic flows.
Protest leaders took turns to verbally attack Israel over the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip and the United States for its support of the Israeli war against Hamas fighters.
The demonstrators voiced encouragement for Hamas militants fighting Israeli military forces. Protesters stepped on an Israeli flag placed in the road and then set fire to it.
Chaiyid Sulaiman Huzainee, an Islamic leader, said Israel has been receiving weapons from its allies to carry out genocide against Palestinians for the past 75 years. He criticised the US for supporting Israel.
“We are in Thailand and cannot carry weapons, but what we can do we will do,” he said. “As Thais, we will not cause any damage to our country. We won’t be deterred by severe oppression by Israel.
“Accepting oppression is the greatest evil. If the Palestine problem is not ended, the whole world will suffer. The United Nations protects the rights of Jews. Hamas brothers had to fight against them.”
He expressed his confidence that Thai workers who were held hostage by Hamas forces would not be in danger and would be released as soon as possible.
He blamed the media for labelling Hamas forces as terrorists. The protest dispersed at around noon.
Hamas took at least 200 hostages, including 19 Thai workers, following its surprise attack on Israel on Oct 7. Thirty Thais have been killed since hostilities broke out.
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Demonstrators express support for the Palestinian cause during a protest outside the Embassy of Israel at Ocean Tower II on Sukhumvit Soi 21 in Bangkok on Saturday. (Photos: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
