Several hundred Palestinians, representatives of Arab associations and Bulgarians staged a rally in downtown Sofia on Tuesday afternoon, protesting Israel's airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have entered the fourth day, Xinhua reported.
The protesters handed a declaration to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, appealing that Bulgaria, in its capacity as a member of the European Union, should provide support for the restoration of peace in the Gaza Strip.
The protesters chanted "Long Live Palestine" and carried posters that read "Muslims are for peace," "How long will there be innocent victims?" and "Killed children do not grow up."
Earlier on Tuesday, the Ambassador of the Palestinian Authority to Bulgaria Ahmed al-Madbuh held a special press conference and called upon the international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop its military actions and restore peace in Gaza.
"What is happening in Gaza is a real massacre," the ambassador said, adding that Israel is violating all UN resolutions concerning the conflict in Gaza, and that the Israeli leadership must be tried for military crimes.
According to the ambassador, so far more than 400 Palestinians had been killed and 2,000 others wounded -- including 150 children and at least 100 women -- in the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Madbuh also compared Israel's policy towards the Arab population in Gaza to the policy of Nazi Germany towards the Jews in World War II.