(JTA) — In a reversal by Paris officials, organizers of a demonstration against Israel’s actions in Gaza received permission to march through the city’s center.
Approximately 1,500 police officers have been assigned to provide security at the march, which is scheduled for Wednesday evening, the Le Figaro daily reported.
The heavy police presence is meant to prevent disturbances like those witnessed in France in recent weeks, including attacks against nine synagogues, which led the French Ministry of Interior to impose a ban on anti-Israel protests out of concern for public order.
Thousands defied the ban in additional violent and nonviolent protests against Israel’s assault on Hamas in Gaza, which Israel launched on July 8 following repeated rocket launches at the country from Gaza.
City officials told the Le Parisien daily that the organizers of Wednesday’s rally from the umbrella group “National collective for a just and durable peace between Palestinians and Israelis” have proven themselves to be “serious and responsible” in previous events.
On Sunday, approximately 200 protesters assembled at a banned protest rally outside the main synagogue of the heavily Jewish Paris suburb of Sarcelles. Police prevented them from approaching the synagogue, where 100 Jewish youths assembled to defend the building.
A group of protesters threw a firebomb at a nearby synagogue, resulting in minor damage.
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