 A pro-Palestinian protester slashes himself with a cutter knife during a protest against Israel's naval commando raid on a flotilla of ships carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists to the Gaza Strip, outside the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. |
A Palestinian man slashed himself on Tuesday with a box cutter outside the US embassy in Malaysia during a demonstration against Israel’s attack on a Gaza aid flotilla.
About 300 people demonstrated outside the embassy and demanded that the United States act against its ally Israel after Monday’s deadly raid on the aid ships, which tried to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian man slashed himself several times and held the box cutter to his neck, apparently threatening to kill himself, before fellow demonstrators stopped him and he was apprehended by police.
Another group of more than 300 people also protested at the UN building in the mainly Muslim nation, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel and, therefore, no Israeli embassy.
The protestors waved banners that read “Unite for Palestine” and “Justice for Gaza” while shouting “Destroy Israel.” “The world condemns this Israel cruelty,” Khairy Jamaluddin, head of the youth wing of the ruling United Malays National Organization, was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper. “Malaysia must stand up against such heinous acts.” Mr. Khairy also urged all Malaysians to join a planned protest on Friday outside the US embassy.
Anti—Israel demonstrations were sparked across Europe, the Middle East and in New York and Washington after the raid, in which Israeli naval commandos overtook an aid convoy dubbed the Freedom Flotilla in international waters.
The Israeli takeover turned violent, and Israeli soldiers shot dead at least nine activists while dozens were injured.