Pro-Palestinian groups call boycott on Israel

BRAZIL: Pro-Palestinian groups meeting at the World Social Forum that ended Sunday launched a call for a worldwide boycott of Israel and a day of action on March 30.

"This is not intended to be an anti-Semitic action. It's a call against the apartheid that Israel is practising," said one of the organizers, Yuri Haas, an Israeli Jew.

The campaign was decided by several groups headed by the Palestine National Committee.

At the six-day forum in Belem, Brazil, t-shirts declaring "I am Palestinian" and Palestinian scarves were a common sight as participants showed their solidarity with the Palestinians following the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

"Israel killed more than 1,300 and wounded 5,000 Palestinians in 23 days in Gaza," Haas said.

The pro-Palestinian groups also launched a campaign to try to block a free-trade agreement between Israel and the Mercosur trading bloc comprising (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela).

Belem, Tuesday, AFP