Bouteflika calls on Algerians to support Palestinians

The Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called on his people to extend their hands to help the Palestinian people as a “moral and human duty”.

In a message from Bouteflika delivered by his advisor Mohammad Ali Bu-Ghazi during the opening of the Jamila Arab Festival in the Sétif province, east of the capital, yesterday, he said: “I commend the role of the artists in promoting mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence between populous and the emphasis on moral and humanitarian duty of solidarity with the Palestinian people. I also call on all Algerians to extend their hands to support their brothers in Palestine.”

The Jamila festival is a cultural event which occurs every summer in Algiers. This year it launched the slogan “solidarity with the Palestinian people and the steadfastness of Gaza”.

Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip on July 7 killing 1,962 mainly civilians and injuring nearly 10,000, according to official Palestinian figures.

According to official Israeli data, 64 soldiers and three Israeli civilians have been killed in this war, and 1,008 others were wounded, including 651 military and 357 civilians.

On Wednesday the two sides agreed on a new five-day truce.