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Pro-Palestinian protestors disrupted a pro-Israeli demonstration on the Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town on Sunday as police were forced to use stun grenades and water cannons to disperse several Palestinian counter-protesters. At the same time, buses filled with Israeli protesters were sent away.

A clash took place between demonstrators and riot police and four people were detained.

The skirmishes on Sunday came after a large yet peaceful protest in support of the Palestinian people on Saturday. Tens of thousands marched through Cape Town’s city centre, demanding that the Israeli embassy be closed and that the Western Cape government condemn Israel as it did Russia.

Approximately a hundred pro-Palestinian protesters rocked up to the Israeli protest on Sunday and scuffled with a few dozen pro-Israel activists, largely from Christian churches.

Reverend Barry Isaacs, convener of the protest for Israel, said the police were there because of the City, not at their request.

Abeedah Adams, a member of the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said that, unlike other marches for Palestine, the counter-protest had no link to any official organisation.

“I think there’s a very strong sentiment that we can’t allow that kind of Zionism. It’s not welcome in the City of Cape Town,” she said.

“It was more spontaneous: people responding to the posters and the media about the pro-Israeli protest.”

Both sides worsened the situation on Sunday as pro-Palestinian protesters grabbed an Israeli flag from a pro-Israel protester, according to GroundUp. Pro-Israeli protesters also attempted to provoke pro-Palestinian demonstrators which led to a lot of yelling and several fights – which led police to use stun grenades to disperse the people involved in the fight.

Protesters also yelled at police, comparing them to apartheid-era police. When a small group of pro-Palestine protesters tried to harass an Israeli protester in a wheelchair, police also had to intervene with pepper spray.

Naturally, social media was filled with scenes of intolerance and hate, even as Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis called for “tolerance while emphasising the right to protest.” The city has also condemned threats against a local Jewish school.

See footage of Saturday’s march below:

 

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1/12 [PICTURES] A pro-Israeli protest at the Sea Point Promenade in Cape Town was disrupted today by pro-Palestinian protesters. Palestinian supporters clashed with police and a number of them were arrested. Here are some pictures from the day. #Thread@GroundUp_News pic.twitter.com/IAWbggRYDQ

— Ashraf Hendricks (@AshrafRSA) November 12, 2023

Scenes from Sundays conflict:

The conflict between Israel and Hamas seems to have spilt over into all the corners of the globe.

Maybe Megadeth said it best: “Brother will kill brother, spilling blood across the land / Killing for religion, something I don’t understand”.

[source:groundup]