RABAT: Thousands of Moroccans gathered in Rabat on Sunday to voice their support for the Palestinian cause and protest a new Israeli law that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks. The crowd of around 5,000 people marched down the capital&#39;s Mohammed V Avenue in the centre of town, with many carrying Palestinian and Moroccan flags, AFP journalists reported. The protest was called by the National Action Group for Palestine, which brings together Islamists from the Justice and Development party and left-wing activists. Marchers chanted &quot;no to the death penalty&quot; and &quot;no to occupation and Zionism&quot;, as well as slogans criticising Israel&#39;s conduct of the war in Gaza. &quot;We&#39;re sending our support to Palestinian prisoners who are threatened by this new law on the death penalty,&quot; said Aziz El Hannaoui, a member of the organising coalition. The Israeli law makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank found guilty of intentionally carrying out deadly attacks deemed &quot;acts of terrorism&quot; by an Israeli military court. It also allows the death penalty to be applied in murder cases tried in Israeli criminal courts if the perpetrator intended to &quot;put an end to the existence of the State of Israel&quot;. Critics have said that by effectively creating a separate legal track for Palestinians, the law appears to conflict with Israel&#39;s Basic Laws, which prohibit arbitrary discrimination. After its passage, the law was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, activists and several foreign governments, and immediately drew a court challenge. While the death penalty exists for a small number of crimes in Israel, it has become a de facto abolitionist country -- the Nazi Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann was the last person to be executed in 1962. The protesters in Rabat on Sunday also renewed their criticism of Morocco&#39;s normalisation of ties with Israel in 2020.&nbsp;

Middle East

Thousands of Moroccans gathers in Rabat to voice their support for the Palestinian cause and protest a new Israeli law that would allow the execution of Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks

Moroccans protest Israel death penalty law at pro-Palestinian rally

Reuters

RABAT: Youth protests in cities across Morocco turned far more violent on the fourth night of unrest, authorities said on Wednesday, reporting 263 members of the security forces and 23 civilians injured as demonstrators torched cars and ransacked shops. Protestsbegan on Saturday and have accelerated over successive nights. The demonstrations, demanding better education and healthcare, have been organised online by a loosely formed, anonymous youth group calling itself &quot;GenZ 212,&quot; using platforms including TikTok, Instagram and the gaming application Discord. On Tuesday&#39;s fourth night of demonstrations, young men brandished knives and threw Molotov cocktails and stones, the Interior Ministry&#39;s spokesperson said in a statement.He said 409 people had been taken into police custody. Administrative buildings, banks and shops were looted or vandalised in the Souss region cities of Ait Amira, Inezgane, Agadir and Tiznit as well as the eastern city of Oujda, he said. In posts on social media sites discussing the protests, the GenZ 212 group said it rejected violence and was committed to continuing peaceful protests. It said it had no argument with the security forces, only with the government. The Interior Ministry statement said 142 vehicles belonging to the security forces and 20 private cars had been set on fire. Peaceful protests over economic and social conditions have been recurrent in Morocco, but this week&#39;s demonstrations are the most violent since at least 2016 and 2017, when protesters clashed with security forces in the Rif region in the north. The Interior Ministry will uphold the right to protest in accordance with legal procedures, and will respond with &ldquo;restraint and self-control, avoiding provocation,&rdquo; the spokesperson said.

 A boy is detained while taking part in a youth led protest calling for education and health reforms, in Casablanca, Morocco, Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. (AP)

Asia

Youth protests across Moroccan cities turned violent on the fourth night, injuring over 280 people and resulting in hundreds arrested as demonstrators burned cars and looted shops.

Articles tagged with "Moroccan protests"

Moroccans protest Israel death penalty law at pro-Palestinian rally

260 members of Moroccan security forces reported hurt as youth protests turn violent