Protestors march in Olympia to call for ceasefire in Gaza, freedom for Palestinians

As calls for a ceasefire in Gaza have intensified, people across the globe took to the streets on Saturday to show solidarity with Palestinians. Hundreds of protestors marched through the streets of Olympia, chanting and waving Palestinian flags before rallying on the steps of the Capitol.

In a "die-in," protesters lied down on the Capitol steps while holding pieces of paper with the names of Palestinians who have died in the fighting between Hamas and Israeli forces.

Gabriel Mansour, who is Palestinian and has family in the West Bank, was among those at the rally.

"It's very hard to cope with the genocide of your race – to see that you're not looked upon as people," Mansour said.

Liz Arias is part of a Palestinian solidarity network in the South Sound area. She and others want Gov. Jay Inslee to show support for Palestinians the way he has for Israel. Inslee directed the Israeli flag be flown at the Capitol shortly after the Hamas attacks last month. Israel launched an ongoing bombardment of Gaza in response to those attacks.

"We want to see [Inslee] representing, mourning the Palestinian people and restricting any involvement that the state of Washington has in continuing this massacre," Arias said.

More than 9,400 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7 while more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel, according to reporting from Al Jazeera.

Arias says the protestors are demanding that the U.S. cut economic and military ties to Israel, and for Washington state not to provide any support for Israel either.

Gov. Inslee’s office did not respond to requests for comment. [Copyright 2023 Northwest News Network]