SACRAMENTO, Calif. — As the latest chapter of the Hamas and Israel conflict unfolds, a call for action echoed across downtown Sacramento as hundreds of people protested the occupation of the Gaza Strip as the battle strengthens.
"This is not the first time, for 75 years Palestine has been occupied," said Yassar Dahbour, rally organizer. "Nobody is speaking up. We are coming here in support of the Palestinian people and to condemn the Israeli massacre and the onslaught in Gaza."
Calls to free Palestine grew louder as the rally started at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium and then crisscrossed downtown and midtown streets, forcing traffic delays. The rally was hosted by the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights.
Organizers say they want the United States government to step up and end its aid to Israel.
"[Palestinians] lack water, the lack of electricity, medical care, they lack every aspect of life, they live in open air prison, and that is financed by American administration," said Dahbour.
The rally brought people of all ages and more to the streets of Sacramento Saturday afternoon.
"This explosion was predictable," said David Mandel, who is an Israeli citizen and with a group called ‘Jewish Voice for Peace.’ "When you for decades, oppress folks, destroy their homes, steal their land, expel them from their country, and never inevitably, people are going to resist and fight back. And they do it sometimes in ugly ways. But that is not that should not be surprised."
Mandel and others are asking for a ceasefire in the war that has taken the lives of innocent Israeli and Palestinians, also hoping humanitarian aid is allowed to go through.
"We need to organize American Jews who have increasingly come to the conclusion that what is going on over there is not okay. And we need to support something different," said Mandel.
WATCH MORE: Israel-Hamas War Latest: Oct. 11, 2023 Update
