More than 1,000 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have died as a result of Israel’s military strikes against Hamas, Gaza’s Islamist rulers, since the start of the conflict. Images of the bloodshed and wholesale destruction of impoverished neighbourhoods has led to international condemnation of the violence.
Forty Israeli soldiers and three civilians have also been killed in fighting aimed at stopping Hamas firing rockets across the border.
In Britain, peaceful protests against the violence have been marred by vile placards including one declaring: ‘Hitler you were right!’
At a Central London march, protesters confronted a Jewish woman with her two young children and told them: ‘Burn in hell.’
Thousands of protesters yesterday marched in central London against Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Activists and supporters of the Palestinian cause gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington, west London, before marching towards Parliament Square.
Carrying Palestinian flags and placards with slogans such as Stop the Killing and Free Palestine, the protesters chanted 'Israel is a terror state', 'Gaza don't you cry, we will never let you die' and 'Allahu Akbar' (god is great).
There has been also been an explosion of anti-semitic abuse on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.
One man called for a Jewish neighbourhood in London to be bombed so ‘Jews feel the pain’ of the Palestinians.
In a separate incident, a BBC journalist was reprimanded after seeming to suggest western politicians failed to intervene in the Middle East because they had been ‘bought’ by the Jews.
The anti-Semitic backlash has been mirrored on the other side of the Channel where there have been even more violent scenes.
Thousands of police officers were deployed in Berlin today as the authorities in Paris sought to ban further marches.
Protesters in France, which has the world’s third largest Jewish population, have attacked synagogues, smashed the windows of Jewish-owned businesses and set others on fire.
In Germany an Imam reportedly called on Muslims to murder ‘Zionist Jews’ and Jewish people have been attacked in the street.
Police had to step in to protect an Israeli tourist couple from protesters who charged at them shouting ‘Jew! We’ll get you.’
