Muslims and others in several cities across the Balkans rallied on October 22 in support of Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war, saying they condemn "every form of violence and terrorism" and that Israelis and Palestinians both have a right to live in peace.
In Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina that withstood a siege of 1,425 days in the mid-1990s during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia, thousands gathered to call for an end to the Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinian Health Ministry said had killed at least 4,651 people, with another 14,254 people wounded in the besieged territory.
Similar, smaller gatherings were reported in other Bosnian cities, while in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, several hundred people rallied outside the local United Nations office with Palestinian flags.
“We are not calling people to be against Israel. We call on people to raise their voice, to stop the genocide against the Palestinian people.… People need to know that we are for peace,” said Majed Maarouf, president of the Palestinian Community in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Around half of Bosnia's 3.3 million people are Muslim, a large majority being moderate in their religious beliefs, although some Bosniaks were radicalized by foreign fighters during the 1992-95 war.
"Sarajevo has always been on the right side of history and fought for justice and truth," Sarajevo Mayor Benjamina Karic told the crowd.
Israel declared war against Hamas after the militant group launched a fierce attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians, and taking more than 200 more back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel has intensified its bombardment of Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli troops. With water, electricity, and fuel supplies cut off from the densely populated area, UN officials have been pressing for more humanitarian aid to get into the besieged strip. Twenty trucks were allowed to enter Gaza on October 21 across the southern Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
While there had been no incidents of violence occurring in Bosnia over the most recent flare-up of hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the Bosnian government last week announced it had stepped up security measures amid what it said were ''growing concerns over potential repercussions'' stemming from the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
Rallies were held in many parts of Europe on October 22, some calling for an end to anti-Semitism while others were held to demand a cease-fire in Gaza in support of suffering Palestinian citizens.
In Montenegro, protesters demanded the imposition of sanctions against Israel for its shelling of the Gaza Strip. The Podgorica rally and smaller demonstrations held in other Montenegrin cities were organized by the Montenegrin-Palestinian Society.
"We demand an end to the genocide, the introduction of sanctions, and a boycott of Israel by President Jakov Milatovic and the government and that they condemn the genocide. We demand peace in Palestine because a greater conflict would harm the whole world," said student Jovan Mandic.