Portion below; whole thing here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008641095_webrally17m.html
Hundreds of people gathered at Westlake Park Saturday for a rally and march protesting the Israeli attacks in Gaza.
Holding signs saying "End the Occupation" and "Stop U.S. Aid to Israel," and photos of injured or dead children, they chanted slogans such as "Free, free Gaza" and "Long live Palestine." The rallying cries stilled for a while, as Muslim participants gathered in rows for midday prayers. Then Jewish participants who oppose Israel's actions in the conflict said a Jewish prayer of mourning.
"We're doing our best to open people's eyes to what's going on," said Mona Marouf of Shoreline, who has relatives in Gaza and who said this was the third time she's participated in such a rally.
Ronni Tartlet of Seattle carried a sign saying "Jews mourn those killed by recent Israeli aggression: 1,100 Palestinians + 13 Israelis." She said she deplores Hamas' long-runnning rocket attacks on Israel but felt she had to speak out "as a U.S. Jew" against Israel's killing of civilians in the recent conflict.
The demonstration came as Israel declared a unilateral cease-fire. But Hamas threatened to keep fighting until Israeli troops leave the Palestinian territory.
One person was arrested — a man who grabbed a large Israeli flag from the hands of a counter-protestor, said Lt. Jim Fitzgerald of the Seattle Police Department. Other demonstrators escorted the counter-protestor during the rest of the march.
"That went a long way to show they were trying to be peaceful," Fitzgerald said.
The Saturday rally was one of several local demonstrations — both in support of or in opposition to Israel's actions — since the offensive started some three weeks ago.
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