Luxembourg, Global Demonstrations Calling for Gaza Ceasefire Set for Monday

Amnesty International Luxembourg has announced that it is organising a demonstration calling for an "immediate and lasting" ceasefire in Gaza, on Monday 18 December 2023 in Luxembourg City.

The demonstration is one of several planned around the world, after Palestinian organisations and activists called for a global strike on Monday, demanding an immediate ceasefire.

"We need global mobilisation: this day of action is intended to allow everyone calling for a ceasefire to come together and show the strength and power of our collective global voice," explained Fernanda Pérez, Director of the Luxembourg section of Amnesty International.

On Monday, supporters of Amnesty International Luxembourg will meet at the organisation's headquarters in Luxembourg-Gare (23 Rue des Unis, L-1477) at 17:00, before marching to Place Hamilius in the city centre to call for a ceasefire.

The Luxembourg-based organisation noted that "suffering has reached unprecedented intensity and scale" in Gaza and the West Bank since 7 October 2023 (the date of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel).

A week-long truce ended on 1 December 2023 and fighting resumed. The organisation recalled that 1.8 million people in Gaza have been forcibly displaced and civilians are "struggling to survive in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis".

Amnesty International Luxembourg also recalled that, on 8 December 2023, the United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire - despite a ceasefire being considered "the best way to ensure the protection of all civilians in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, and to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza."

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) held a similar rally in Luxembourg (outside the European Parliament) on Thursday 14 December 2023.

In addition, the Comité pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient asbl (CPJPO; Committee for Fair Peace in the Middle East) is organising a similar demonstration, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, at 15:00 on Saturday 16 December 2023 in Place de Clairefontaine in Luxembourg-Ville.

Later that same day, the CPJPO is hosting a solidarity evening ("Trois heures pour Gaza", or three hours for Gaza) at Casino Syndical in Luxembourg-Bonnevoie, from 17:00 to 20:00. On the agenda are testimonies and photographs from Gaza, graffiti and posters and a live video conference from Jenin refugee camp.