Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa hold Quds Day protests

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa yesterday in a show of solidarity with Palestinians, as part of the worldwide Quds Day protests.

In Nigeria, demonstrations took place across a number of states, while hundreds gathered at the national mosque in the capital Abuja. Protesters called on Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and criticised Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s normalisation of ties with Israel.

The Nigerian government has invited Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to visit the country later this month. If Netanyahu honours the invitation, it would be the first time in 61 years that an Israeli prime minister has visited Nigeria.

For Quds Day, Kenyans gathered in Mombasa to protest the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine, on May 31, 2019 [Afro-Palestine Newswire Service]

Thousands gathered in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on May 31, 2019, to protest Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the Buhari government’s warming relations with Israel [Afro-Palestine Newswire Service]

Meanwhile in the Kenyan city of Mombasa, demonstrators from the Kenya Palestine Solidarity Movement carried banners saying “Palestine is not for sale”. Protesters also lambasted the administration of US President Donald Trump for the long-awaited “deal of the century”, the first elements of which are due to be unveiled in Bahrain later this month.

In South Africa, protesters gathered in Johannesburg to call on the city council to adopt a motion to rename one of its streets after Palestinian icon Leila Khaled. According to spokesperson Alex Mdakane, a motion to rename the road was brought to the council by the African National Congress (ANC) party late last year. It passed with a majority but as yet has not been implemented.

Quds Day – which takes place on the last Friday of Ramadan – has seen protests across the world, including in the US, Australia and Malaysia. The demonstration is held annually to express support for the Palestinian people.

Read: Hamas: Quds Day ‘an opportunity to reunite nation’