Above Photo: Braving Freezing Cold, Kargil Pours Out To Protest Netanyahu Visit
People marched through the streets of Kargil chanting slogans like “Netanyahu Go Back” and “Resistance Till Victory”.
KARGIL: Braving sub zero temperatures residents of this remote Himalayan town in Ladakh region of Kashmir came out in thousands to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “historic” arrival in India – the first by a Zionist leader in 15 years.
People marched through the streets of Kargil chanting slogans like “Netanyahu Go Back” and “Resistance Till Victory”.
Carrying Palestinian flags and portraits of Hassan Nasrallah, the Lebanese resistance leader people burned an effigy of Netanyahu and an Israeli flag at main square.
There have been smaller sporadic protests in India against the Israeli premiers visit so far but the demonstration in Kargil on Sunday was by far the biggest in size.
Earlier a group of men gathered in New Delhi on Saturday holding placards and banners with crossed-out images of the Israeli prime minister that read “Go back, Netanyahu” in English and Hindi.
As the crowd shouted anti-Israeli slogans, a man in the front held a burning effigy, with pictures of the Israeli flag and Netanyahu attached to it, as seen in footage from Ruptly.
Netanyahu landed at the New Delhi airport Sunday in “a historic and special visit,” Indian counterpart Narendra Modi said. They hope to strengthen ties between the two countries during the six-day visit, with deals on cybersecurity, energy, and space cooperation expected to be signed.
Watch Video: Anti-Israel Protest Kargil
The visit also comes weeks after India, along with 127 other countries, joined a UN General Assembly call for the Donald Trump administration to drop its decision on recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Israeli ambassador to India, however, said the vote would not affect bilateral relations, which are “much stronger than one vote at the UN.”
The US’ Jerusalem move generated shockwaves across the world, with violent protests erupting beyond the Middle East and a wave of criticism against Washington.