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Palestinian victims marked in Paris

Hundreds of demonstrators have staged a candlelight protest in the French capital, Paris, to mark the second anniversary of Israel’s 22-day war against the Gaza Strip.

The protesters gathered near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday and lit candles in memory of over 1,400 Palestinians killed during the devastating offensive Israel launched against the densely populated enclave on December 27, 2008.

The demonstrators also commemorated those who lost their lives onboard a Gaza-bound aid convoy which came under attack by Israeli navy commandos on May 31.

Nine Turkish activists onboard the six-vessel Gaza Freedom Flotilla were killed when the Israeli navy commandos stormed the civilian fleet while in international waters.

The demonstrators in Paris called for an end to Israel’s years-long blockade of the Gaza Strip, half of whose impoverished population of 1.5 million lives on international food aid handouts.

“Today, across the world, people are taking action so that, after the first Freedom Flotilla, which faced the brutality we know, other boats and other flotillas are coming together in order to go and break the siege,” said an activist, named Omar al-Soumi.

“And that’s why we’re working together with dozens of French non-governmental organizations, parties and unions, so that there will be a boat to take part in the next flotilla to put an end to this blockade, to show our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to simply say that we reject Israel’s policies which are unacceptable, inhumane and against international laws,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Tel Aviv would never apologize to Turkey over its deadly attack on the Ankara-backed Flotilla.

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