Thousands of protesters rallied in Paris Thursday to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The protest came only after officials granted permission following a weeklong ban on pro-Palestine protests in France. These two protesters spoke with France 24 television.

Protester 1: “We’re here to show our support for the Palestinian people. It’s been 75 years of colonization, and they’re fighting for their right to independence and self-determination. We’re here to show them that we haven’t forgotten them.”

Protester 2: “We see pro-Israeli demonstrations going on without any problems, with political leaders at their head. But when you try to defend Palestine, that’s forbidden.”

In Pakistan, hundreds of protesters rallied in the capital Islamabad Thursday for a Palestinian solidarity march. This is Pakistani gender equality and human rights activist Tahira Abdullah.

Tahira Abdullah: “Instead of a two-state solution, we are now going towards a one-state solution, and that one state is only Israel. Where is Palestine? Should the Palestinians jump into the sea? Where should they go? There is nowhere for them. Gaza was a tiny little strip, and Israel has kicked them out of Gaza, and they want them to go into Egypt so that Israel can occupy Gaza also. We absolutely protest against this. We demand that the United Nations should do something finally after 75 years of absolutely useless resolutions.”

Pro-Palestine demonstrations have also continued in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria and across the Middle East and North Africa.