Tunisian protesters hold 6th day of sit-in outside US Embassy over Gaza war

Tunisian activists have continued their sit-in for the sixth consecutive day outside the United States Embassy in the capital, Tunis, demanding an end to Israel’s blockade and attacks on Gaza, and the opening of its border crossings.

The protest, known as the “Siege of the US Embassy”, began last Saturday following a call by the Coordination of Joint Action for Palestine and the “Tunisian Network to Confront the Normalisation System”, both independent civil society groups.

Protesters gathered in the square in front of the embassy, raising slogans condemning US support for what they described as a war of extermination.

Speaking on Thursday evening, protest spokesperson Salah Eddine Al-Masri said: “This protest aims to pressure the US to stop supporting Israel and push for an end to the war on Gaza and the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid.”

READ: Hamas official: US envoy’s Gaza visit is publicity stunt

He added that a new protest is planned for next Monday at the embassy’s entrance, where demonstrators will display pictures of Palestinian children killed in the war and will attempt to disrupt the embassy’s access.

Al-Masri stressed that stopping the genocide against Palestinians is a moral responsibility for anyone who believes in dignity and human rights.

He affirmed that the sit-in will continue as long as the starvation and killings in Gaza persist.

“This is a siege to break the siege. We refuse to accept the slow extermination of a people through hunger and isolation, aided by the US,” said Ghassan El-Hanshiri, a member of the organising committee, told The New Arab.

“We will not leave until the blockade is broken,” he declared. 

READ: Entire generation in Gaza at risk of malnutrition, UNRWA warns