Journalists stage sit-in to show solidarity with Palestinians

Palestine-Feature BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Branches of the Journalists’ Syndicate throughout Iraq on Monday staged a sit in to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which has been under continued Israeli attacks for ten days. In Thi-Qar, journalists and media men staged a sit-in in front of the syndicate in al-Nile street in central Nassiriya, during which workers from different media institutions took part. “This sit-in aims to show solidarity with the Palestinian people who are being targeted by the Israeli aggression,” the president of the syndicate told IraqiNews.com news agency, noting that the Thi-Qar journalists proved they support the Palestinian people and with the Gazans. “We call on international organizations to support the Palestinian people,” Kazem al-Ubaidi said. Nassiriya, the capital of Thi-Qar, is 380 km south of Baghdad. A number of journalists in Missan staged a sit-in in front of the Journalists’ Syndicate in the city of Amara, protesting the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians. “The sit-in in Missan came to show solidarity with the Palestinian people after the Israeli invasion and shelling of unarmed Palestinians,” the Syndicate’s head in Missan Abdul Amir al-Darwish, told IraqiNews.com. There are more than 100 journalists in Missan working for Iraqi, Arab, and foreign newspapers. In Kirkuk in northern Baghdad, journalists called on the international community to cease aggression against the Gaza and immediate intervention to stop it. In Ninewa, 405 km north of Baghdad, a source from the Journalists’ Syndicate said “a number of journalists staged a sit-in in the city in protest of the Israeli massacres in Gaza.” Journalists in Wassit denounced the Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the head of the syndicate. “They raised banners condemning the Israeli attacks,” Saaod al-Shimri told IraqiNews.com news agency. The Iraqi government had condemned on Saturday (Jan. 2) the Israeli army raids on the Gaza Strip, the most densely-populated area in the world, and called for an end to the military operations, avoiding endangering civilian lives, and refraining from the collective punishment policy. The Iraqi Air Force on Wednesday (Dec. 31) sent four flights to the Egyptian city of al-Arish to dispatch humanitarian and medical aid to the people of Gaza, who have been coming under Israeli attacks for days now. SH (I)/SR 1