Dubai: About 500 Dubai residents on Sunday demonstrated their solidarity at the Consulate-General of Palestine in Dubai with nationalistic chants and banners condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza.
More than 270 people, including women and children, were killed in the air strikes which began on Saturday. Israeli leaders have warned "the coming days will not be easy or short".
The unprecedented assault sparked protests and condemnations throughout the Arab world, and many of Israel's Western allies urged restraint, although the United States blamed Hamas for the fighting.
Osama Noor Al Deen, a Dubai resident and a civil engineer, said he lost a 25-year-old cousin during the air strikes.
He described the newly wed cousin as a "gentleman who always took care of his family".
With tears in his eyes, he said, "We do not want money, Arab meetings, or any other support; we just want the Egyptian government to open the crossings for us to see our families. I fear I will never see my parents and siblings again. I want to be with my family during this time."
The 24-year-old has been in Dubai for only two months and is willing to quit his job to be reunited with his family.
"Why is it difficult for them to let us cross the borders? I believe it is the least we can ask," he said.
Call for unity
During the demonstration at the consulate, people called for Arab unity and solidarity and for an immediate end to the violence being committed against the Gazans.
"I feel guilty that I am here eating, drinking, and sleeping peacefully while my people are suffering and their cries are falling on deaf ears," said Samir Baidas, from Yafa, Occupied Palestine, and a Dubai resident.
On the current political situation, Alia Al Sabea, another resident, said, "I am not a fan of the Hamas-led government, in particular when it comes to certain modes as bombing Israeli civilians. But I do not see Hamas as the initiator of this violence, nor are they a terrorist government. They are a resistance-political government responding to the atrocities in Palestine."
Khan, a British-Pakistani national who did not want to reveal her first name, said the Palestinian conflict should be looked at in a wider perspective as being part of an Arab and Muslim issue.
"The problem will not be resolved if we look at it as a Palestinian issue only. It's about the unity of leaders - to take action and not merely issue condemnations. If one part of the body is in pain then the entire body feels it. This is how it should be... this is why I am here. Unfortunately, what I see here is a nationalistic demonstration, not a humanitarian one."
Dr Ramadan Abdul Hadi, Cultural Adviser in the Consulate, said, "We are united here to demonstrate and show our solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Gaza and to strongly condemn the atrocities committed against them. We also call upon the Palestinians to unite under one banner."
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since Hamas seized control in June 2007.
From the time that Hamas took control, its 1.5 million people have been forced to make do with less than a quarter of the volume of imported supplies they received in December 2005. Reduced fuel supplies and a lack of spare parts have had a heavy knock-on impact on sewage treatment, waste collection, water supply and medical facilities.
