Pro-Israeli, Pro-Palestinian Groups Clash in South Africa

South African police fired stun grenades and water cannon in Cape Town on Sunday to quell clashes between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrators. A national prayer rally for Israel and the Hamas hostages held in Gaza was to be held in the early afternoon in an affluent area of Cape Town on the Atlantic coast, a popular place for family walks on Sundays. But several hundred anti-Israel demonstrators gate-crashed the event, following a pro-Palestinian demonstration that brought thousands of people onto the streets of the port and tourist city, according to AFP journalists at the scene. Protestors wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags chased away those attending the pro-Israeli prayer meet, tore up their placards and occupied the space. Police intervened with a water cannon and sound grenades to disperse the demonstrators, then set up a roadblock to keep people out of the area.