Protesters say Ferguson feels like Gaza, Palestinians tweet back advice

A dialogue is taking place on social media between angry American protestors demanding justice in the killing of an unarmed black teenager by police and Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip who have been hit hard by deadly Israeli attacks for weeks.

As streets of Ferguson in the US state of Missouri have recently been witnessing tear gas and heavily-armed SWAT teams, some protestors compared the city to war-stricken Gaza Strip.

Some protestors chanted “Gaza Strip” as they confronted lines of police, Los Angeles Times reporter Matt Pearce wrote on Twitter. “We are being occupied,” one commented to the Daily Beast. “Will we as a people rise up like the people of Gaza?”

Scenes of police crushing protestors in Ferguson, where African-American Michael Brown was shot to death on Saturday, have prompted outrage in more than 100 cities across the US.

Israel launched the latest war against the blockaded Gaza Strip on July 8. Nearly 1,962 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have so far lost their lives and at least 10,100 have been injured in the Israeli war.

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed to extend a temporary truce in Gaza for five more days as they continued their indirect talks in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

“Much support to #Ferguson ❤#Gaza,” tweeted Inas Safadi, a Palestinian from Gaza. “Revolution of Ferguson, can’t be prouder of these people who won’t let their son’s blood goes for nothing.”

Gazawia, another Tweeter user wrote “Where I come from, what some call “rioting” we call an uprising. #Ferguson #Gaza #Palestine #intifada.”

Rana Nazzal tweeted a picture of Hamde Abu holding a sign that read “The Palestinian people know what mean to be shot while unarmed because of your ethnicity.”

Some Palestinians even offered advice to the Ferguson protesters on how to deal with tear gas inhalation, and other riot control methods.

“Don’t Keep much distance from the Police, if you’re close to them they can’t tear Gas. To Ferguson from Palestine,” wrote Rajai AbuKhalil.

Mariam Barghouti said, “Always make sure to run against the wind /to keep calm when you’re teargassed, the pain will pass, don’t rub your eyes! #Ferguson Solidarity.”

AbuKhalil replied to Miriam “And of course DON’T wash your eyes with water.”

A user took the tweets as a sign that the news for the Ferguson protests has been spread throughout social media and people across the globe now know about the demonstrations.

“You know things are out of control in Ferguson, MO, when people in Gaza are tweeting advice on how to cope,” Damian Foley wrote.

Other users said comparing police violence in Missouri and the devastating assault on the Gaza Strip was not fair.

Mariam Barghouti wrote “To clear things up, I’m not in Gaza. I’m in the West Bank. Gaza gets more than teargas, they get flat neighborhoods.”

“Not a big fan of comparing Gaza to Ferguson. It’s much more accurate to compare Ferguson, to, well, every city throughout US history,” wrote Alex Kane.

Kimberly Dawn replied “I don’t think anyone is trying to compare Ferguson to Gaza. The point is solidarity and justice.”