Thousands protest Israeli air assault

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Crowds of thousands swept into the streets of cities around the Middle East on Sunday to denounce Israel's air assault on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.

From Lebanon to Iran, Israel's adversaries used the weekend assault to marshal crowds into the streets for noisy demonstrations. Angry protesters carried images of the dead and the destruction in demonstrations from Cairo to Istanbul.

And among regional allies there was also discontent: The prime minister of Turkey, one of the few Muslim countries to have relations with Israel, called the air assault a "crime against humanity."

The Syrian government, meanwhile, announced the suspension of its indirect peace talks with Israel because the attacks.

Israel and Syria held four rounds of indirect negotiations in Turkey after the peace talks were launched in May.

Hezbollah's leader in Lebanon told thousands of Beirut residents that his group will not abandon Gaza and asked his fighters to be alert in case Israel decides to attack his group.

A radical Saudi cleric used the assault on Gaza to incite believers to target Israeli interests "everywhere," to avenge the attacks on the Gaza strip.

Several of Sunday's protests turned violent.

In Lebanon, police fired tear gas to stop dozens of demonstrators from reaching the Egyptian Embassy. Some in the crowd hurled stones at the embassy compound. Security officials said two policemen were wounded and taken to a hospital and several demonstrators were lightly injured.

Egypt, which has served as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians as well as between Hamas and its rival Fatah, has been criticized for joining Israel in closing its borders with Gaza. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Hamas to renew its truce with Israel.

Egypt also again summoned the Israeli ambassador to express its rejection of Israeli government comments about expanding the assault on Gaza.

France also called for the truce to be renewed and rallied European nations to use "all their weight" to stop the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

In Beirut, the leader of Lebanese militant Hezbollah Sheik Hassan Nasrallah also took a stab at the Egyptian role. He said if it does not open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza then "you are taking part in the crime" against Palestinians.